Implementing environmental plans and laws at rural grassroots, Palawan, Philippines: status, factors, and moving forward

Abstract

In the Philippines, the coastal and marine areas in its numerous small islands provide food, minerals, raw materials, and others contribute significantly to the country’s GDP. However, its environmental governance at the grassroots level is poorly studied. Hence, this study aims to: monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Area Specific Activity Plan (ASAP) of the identified barangays/municipalities; assess the enforcement of environmental laws, namely: a) solid waste management, b) fishery and c) forestry at the barangays of Palawan; and identify the factors which influence the implementation of environmental plans and laws at the barangay level. This study gathered data among 194 respondents from six municipalities and 59 barangays across Palawan. The result shows that the implementation of the environmental plan of activities of municipalities and barangays ranged from "most of the proposed activities are implemented" to "all of the activities are implemented", indicating a high implementation rate of plans and laws across the barangays of Palawan. There are 15 issues and concerns in the implementation of the ASAP, categorize into five factors: funding, capability, legislative, political will, and IEC. The most common factors are funding, capability, legislative, followed by IEC and political will. Gender equity must be factored-in in plans and strategies.