Environmental Zoning for Biodiversity Conservation in

Lawaan, Eastern Samar, Philippines

Eulito V. Casas, Jr., PhDNestor T. Bagunion, PhD

• Biodiversity Conservation has become an important concept in the thinking of government officials, conservationists, and even diplomats (Reid et. Al, 1993)

• Convention on Biological Diversity, Nairobi, Kenya

• Environmentally Critical Area Network (ECAN) in Palawan used GIS

Used Core Zones:

• Innermost =restricted forestry zone

• Next ring=agroforestry buffer network

• Outing network=Intensive agriculture land use zone

• Philippines remains as one of the hottest biodiversity “hotspots” in terms of high vulnerability and high irreplaceability (Ong 2007)

• National Integrated Protected Area System Act in 1998

Statement of the Problem:

• Zoning is the current mechanism or management tool for protected area management and regulation program.

• Poore (1993) affirms that at present, available data need to be treated. The uncertainty caused by the complexity of the tropical forest environments is compounded by science and conflicting perception and interest.

• The challenge of Samar Island Biodiversity Project is to balance between the development needs of the Samarinos at the same time conserve the natural resources for sustainable biodiversity.

• Ecological Governance- a management regime that conserves biodiversity based on identified local ecological and social criteria which strategies are formulated, issued and applied as integral to a covenant building process.

Objectives:

• Identify adjoining areas and possibly connect different vegetations/ecosystems as the ecological basis for designing biodiversity management strategy.

• Look over into how it reflects the stakeholders’ needs and short term to long term involvement in zoning.

• Lastly, it aims to integrate the interface of social and biophysical components of the ecosystem.

• Assess the existing NIPAS “concentric zoning” scheme in relation to the biodiversity conservation objectives of Samar Islands.

Significance of the Study

• Mark Twain• Challenges the more popular concentric

zoning.• ECAN and NIPAS: On biosphere Reserves

• There is an imperative need to come up with landscape/ecosystems (ridge to coastal) zoning programs that are socially sanctioned and locally sustained.

Importance of Biodiversity

• Mankind will suffer after its removal or any part of it. (Freedman 1995)

• Leopold as cited by Shaw (1985) declared “to keep every cog and wheel is the precaution of intelligent tinkering”

Declaration of Protected Areas: The response

• Based on the need to maintain, amidst rapid rate of natural resource destruction, the essential ecological processes and life-support systems on which human survival and development depend on.

• Territories with legally defined boundaries in protection to natural characteristics or value (World Bank 1997)

Landscape Approach to Biodiversity Corridors Zoning

• Smith (1990) said that mountain areas generally support more species than flatlands

• Reckart(1993) concluded that species richness and relative abundance of fruit bats are highest in the lowland forest.

• Heany (1993) Reckart (1993):

--PAs should include primary forests at the widest elevational range that exist in a given faunal region, from lowland to mossy forests.

• GIS technology is used to aid in assessing, analyzing, and managing biodiversity in Lawaan, E. Samar.

• Zoning=f (Social Factors+Ecological Factors)

Where;

SF=measured in terms of policies, Human settlement, Community resource use and practices.

EF=Biophysical factors such as species diversity/endemicity/ Rarity/ Habitat Div.

What is really ENVIRONMENTAL ZONING?

• Is the first of the environmental protective planning which aims to balance relationships between environment and the increase of the standard quality of life

Principles of EZ:• The land-use and resource must be rational in all zones,

subzones and units • Protection and rehabitation of the ecosystem • To take unforeseen circumstances into consideration if

possible.

Methodology• The researchers used social and ecological criteria

coupled with application of arcview.

• Primary data is by both structure and informal interviews of concerned key informants and stakeholders.

• Secondary data from the Lawaan CBRM resource inventory on the information on the ecological and physiographic components used

• GIS mapping as basis for identifying ecosystem/biodiversity hotspot critical area as basis for the assessment and development of sustainable biodiversity policies and management plans

Locale of the study

• Samar Island is one of the major islands comprising Eastern Visayas of Region VIII.

• It offers extreme environment within climatic range of the Philippines in terms of precipitation and frequency of typhoon.

• Its forested are is classified by DENR as an open canopy with mature trees covering less than 50% of the area.

• Lawaan Forest: it has a forest area included within the buffer zone

• Presence of watershed reserve • Presence of CBRM project in the site which

created awareness

3 major activities;

1. Ecological survey

*Flora and Fauna

2. Social Surveys

*Elevation range, slope, river width, etc.

3. GIS mapping

*Topo Map (Elevation &Slope)

*Forest/Community Map

*Protected Areas

*Settlement Map

*Land Use Map

*Watershed Map

GIS Analysis

• Overlaying analysis was done

• Ecological maps are based on the Biodiversity Indices values of Fauna and Flora at different elevation gradients

• Ranking was made based on the weights

The environmental-based Zoning Classification:

• Very Critical: Areas with high BI but classified as Agriculture/Agroforestry

• Critical: Areas with low BI classified as agriculture; moderate BI classified as agriculture and sustainable use and areas with high BI as sustainable use

• Less Critical: areas with low BI classified as sustainable use and restoration

• Noncritical: all areas are classified by the stakeholders as a strict protection zone at 3 levels of BI values.

Results and Discussion

• Avifaunal Diversity:

-

• Vegetation Types across elevation Ranges

EZ vs. CZ

Zoning implications

• Concentric Zoning can lead to extinction of flora and fauna (macro and micro)

Conclusion and Policy Recommendation

• The use of flora and fauna BI values as an ecological criterion along elevation gradients was essential in identifying very critical or hotspot areas.

• Concentric Zoning can lead to extinction at the lower elevation biodiversity rich areas. Environmental Zoning is a new paradigm

Related studies:

Proposal of a geo-environmental zoning method based on Ottobasin compartmentalization

• Ottobasins were characterized based on the rock substratum, unconsolidated materials, slope, drainage and landform.

• A GIS-aided analysis was used to assess which Ottobasin should be subjected to further compartmentalization such that an acceptable level of homogeneity was reached.

Environmental Suitability and Agro-environmental Zoning Of Kenya For Biofuel Production

• The objective of this study was to conduct an agro-climatic and environmental zoning of Kenya in order to produce maps showing the country’s biodiversity, variety of land uses, protected areas and sites that were

suitable for growing biofuel feedstock.