BANTAYAN ISLAND ,
CEBU
ECOTOURISM SITE
BANTAYAN ISLAND,
CEBU
Bantayan is the main and largest island of the
Bantayan island group that lies close to the
. geographical Centre of the Philippine
archipelago.
The island group includes numerous smaller
islands (some uninhabited or uninhabitable),
mostly around the southwest corner of the
island. About 20 of these islets stretch for
about 8 kilometres (5 miles) southwest from
Bantayan municipality port area, with some
nearer ones being accessible on foot from the
main island at low tide. The islands are beside
the busy shipping lanes for ships and ferries
coming from Mindanao or Cebu City on their
way to Manila. The islands are all small and
green and low, virtually indistinguishable one
from another.
Bantayan Island Cebu , Standard Requirements for
Accreditation of an Ecotour Facility
Section 1. Requirements for Securing Core Accreditation:
I. Natural and/or Cultural Area Focus
A. The islands' natural resource base comprises mostly of marine and coastal resources,
such as marine sanctuaries, coral reserves, beaches, seascapes, caves and mangrove areas.
B. Measures to protect some of the potential ecotourism sites such as the marine protected
areas are already in place. Local legislations such as the Municipal Fisheries and Coastal
Resource Management Code and the Clean and Green Ordinance are some of the local
initiatives taken to protect the coastal resources of the islands.
C. A number of task forces have also been created to ensure the protection of the marine sanctuaries.
There is a need though to strengthen some of the measures. Even with the presence of
the bodies, violations threaten these protected areas.
II. Community Participation
A. Bantayan and its surrounding islands have been included in several pieces of
legislation giving protected status.
B. Visitors seeking ecotourism experiences are the very reason why there is an
ecotourism
market. At present, only a small segment of this growing market has been tapped by
the three
island groups mainly because of limited products that the islands could offer for the
moment.
With their natural resources and cultural assets, the islands have the potential to
attract
the following types of market: adventure travelers, sedentary travelers, families, scuba
divers,
independent travelers or backpackers, resort-centric travelers, students, and study
tours
III. Protection and Management of Environment, Culture and Indigenous Knowledge
and Practices.
A. Environmental Sustainability
1. Location
a. Site Selection
i. Bantayan Island is an island located in the Visayan Sea, Philippines. It is
situated to the west of the northern end of Cebu island, across the Tañon Strait.
According to the 2015 census
ii. Bantayan is the main and largest island of the Bantayan island group that
lies close to the geographical Centre of the Philippine archipelago.
iii. The island group includes numerous smaller islands (some uninhabited or
uninhabitable), mostly around the southwest corner of the island. About 20 of these
islets stretch for about 8 kilometres (5 miles) southwest from Bantayan municipality
port area, with some nearer ones being accessible on foot from the main island at low
tide.
iv. The islands are beside the busy shipping lanes for ships and ferries coming
from Mindanao or Cebu City on their way to Manila. The islands are all small
and green and low, virtually indistinguishable one from another.
b. The Tañon Strait protected seascape was established by President
Ramos under proclamation no. 1234 of 1998. This includes more than 29,187 m
(29 km; 18 mi) of the eastern shoreline of Bantayan island. In February 2015,
17 years after its declaration, the first summit on the Tañon Strait protected
seascape is to be held.
c. The following are secured prior to development:
i. Tubbataha Reef Marine National Park (33,200ha) established under Proclamation
No.306; it was also protected under Presidential Decree No.705;
ii. The Department of Environment & Natural Resources (DENR) with The
Tubbataha Foundation agreed to manage the Park; the site designated part of
Palawan UNESCO Biosphere Reserve;
2. Environmental Planning and Impact Assessment:
a. The following are addressed in formal environmental impact assessment:
i. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 is completing
the protected area suitability assessment (PASA) in Bantayan Island Wilderness Area
(BIWA) to speed up the conversion of the land.
