Bunglon Cave is a jagged karst limestone tower standing out of the flatlands of alluvium and soil in the vicinity of Barangay Tagabinet. According to anecdotes from senior residents of the area, the name Bunglon is a Tagbanua term for wild dogs that used to roam the cave. The Cave is geographically situated at North 11°54’71” and East 70°31’73”. From the 1970s until the 1990s, the hill was trekked by young people for its scenic and natural beauty and became a popular hangout for the locals. Aside from its recreational service, Bunglon’s forest provided an important livelihood for the Tagabinet community whose occupations were mainly farming and fishing. During that period, slash and burn or kaingin farming was prevalent as well as the conversion of mangrove forests to fish pens. The highly extractive and destructive nature of these two practices took its toll on the natural environment of Bunglon which in turn seriously affected the livelihood of the community. In 1999, Mr. Kenneth Kennedy, and some member of the University of the Philippines Mountaineers (UPM) discovered one particular stalactite inside the cave which produced a haunting humming sound when knocked. He named it "Ugong Rock" from the Tagalog word "ugong" for the humming sound it made. Since then, Bunglon Cave became more popular among the community members and visitors as Ugong Rock. In the year 2000, the Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC), an environmental nongovernment organization based in Puerto Princesa City visited Ugong Rock to study the unabated environmental degradation happening in the area as part of their project proposal on community-based ecotourism in the Ulugan Bay area. ELAC provided technical and legal assistance to discourage people from their environmentally destructive practices and to stop illegal activities conducted by some individuals who acted purely on self-interest and disregarded the negative impacts of their activities to the environment. As part of ELAC’s activities on environmental awareness in the Ulugan Bay area, they organized the Tagabinet Community Tourism Association (TCTA) whose members were Barangay Tagabinet residents who decided to join the proposed community-based tourism project of ELAC.
Table of Contents
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Organizational Context
3.1.1 Physical and Social Settings
3.1.2 Timeline
3.2 Strategies Described
3.2.1 Approaches Taken
3.2.1.1 1998-1999: Top – Down Approach
3.2.1.2 2000-2003: The Community Based Sustainable Tourism Approach
3.2.1.3 2004-2007: Period of Decline and Inactivity
3.2.1.4 2008-2011: Period of Renewal and Redirection
3.2.1.5 2009-2010: Bottom-up and Autonomy
3.2.1.6 2011-2012: Maturity and Full-autonomy
3.2.1.7 2013-Present: Going Cooperative and Becoming Mainstream
3.2.2 Actors Involved
3.2.3 Institutional Support
3.3 Challenges
3.4 Outcomes
3.4.1 Accomplishments
3.4.2 Perceived Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts of Ugong Rock CBST
3.4.3 Lessons Learned and Best Practices
3.4.4 Perceived advantages of TCTA/TURSCO over other CBST projects in Puerto Princesa City
3.4.5 Other practices that made the Ugong Rock CBST Project the most successful CBST project in Puerto Princesa City so far based on members’ perception:
3.4.6 Offshoot Projects from Ugong Rock Cave and Zipline Adventures
3.5 SOCIAL DYNAMICS BETWEEN UGONG ROCK CBST/TURSCO AND EXTERNAL ACTORS
3.5.1 Dynamics between the Community and the Barangay
3.5.2 Dynamics between the Community and its Members
3.5.3 Dynamics between the Community and Institutional Partners
3.5.4 Legal, organizational, management and technical arrangements of various parties
Objectives and Core Topics
The primary objective of this case history is to document the evolution, organizational processes, challenges, and successes of the Ugong Rock Community-based Sustainable Tourism (CBST) project. The research aims to provide a replicable template for other communities and funding agencies in the Philippines interested in developing sustainable ecotourism, while assessing the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of the initiative on the local Barangay Tagabinet community.
- Evolution of organizational structure (from association to cooperative)
- Impact of mentorship and leadership on community-based organizations
- Economic and environmental outcomes of sustainable tourism
- Strategic partnership models for community development
- Resilience in the face of crisis and disaster management
Excerpt from the Book
3.2.1.2 2000-2003: The Community Based Sustainable Tourism Approach
When the Tagabinet Community Tourism Association was formed in 1999, it was an organization of volunteers willing to become part of a proposed CBST project in Barangay Tagabinet. The TCTA was formed upon the initiation of ELAC which was looking for local residents who will volunteer to prepare Ugong Rock as an ecotourism site. It is important to note that at the inception stage of the TCTA, there was no operational ecotourism product yet and commitments to join the association entailed a lot of risks and uncertainties. At this stage, the potential of Ugong Rock as an ecotourism site was already recognized by ELAC and the Puerto Princesa City government. The Ugong Rock Spelunking and Summit View Deck project was proposed to provide supplemental livelihood to the residents of the barangay. By offering Ugong Rock as a tourist attraction, local livelihood development needs are integrated with environmental conservation.
In terms of operation, ELAC was responsible for providing organizational and management assistance as well as financial support. While TCTA had elected officers, both officers and members looked up to ELAC as an overseer since they considered themselves as still lacking in organizational and management skills. Although the authority structure of TCTA resembled a top-down structure, the degree of authority exerted by ELAC was minimal since there was a distinct organizational framework (constitution, mission-vision etc.) that demarcated the roles and functions, as well as rules that governed the power relationship between TCTA and ELAC. By 2003, the operation of Ugong Rock as a tourist site began. In the same year, a grant of PhP 37,000.00 from UNDP was given to TCTA for support livelihood projects (sari-sari store, micro-lending, hog raising etc.).
Summary of Chapters
3.1 Organizational Context: Provides an overview of the physical and social setting of the Ugong Rock area and outlines the historical timeline of events from 1992 to 2014.
3.2 Strategies Described: Details the chronological management approaches, the evolution of the organization, key actors involved, and the essential institutional support received.
3.3 Challenges: Discusses the significant internal and external obstacles faced by the organization, including security crises, accidents, and interpersonal conflicts.
3.4 Outcomes: Evaluates the project's accomplishments, socioeconomic and environmental impacts, and highlights the best practices derived from over a decade of operation.
3.5 SOCIAL DYNAMICS BETWEEN UGONG ROCK CBST/TURSCO AND EXTERNAL ACTORS: Examines the evolving relationships between the community and external entities such as the Barangay council, its own members, and various institutional partners.
Keywords
Community-based sustainable tourism, CBST, Ugong Rock, Palawan, Ecotourism, TURSCO, Organizational development, Sustainability, Livelihood, Community management, Environmental conservation, Tourism management, Case history, Barangay Tagabinet, Stakeholder partnership
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this publication?
This work is an organizational case history documenting the development of the Ugong Rock Community-based Sustainable Tourism (CBST) project in Palawan, analyzing its transformation from a small association into a successful service cooperative.
What are the primary themes discussed?
The main themes include community-based ecotourism development, organizational transition, resilience strategies, environmental management, stakeholder collaboration, and socioeconomic impact assessment.
What is the primary goal of the study?
The goal is to serve as a useful, replicable template for other local communities and funding agencies in the Philippines that aspire to implement successful, sustainable ecotourism projects.
What scientific methods were employed?
The study utilized document review and analysis, Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with members and officers, Key Informant Interviews (KII), and data gathered from previous socioeconomic impact assessments.
What does the main body cover?
The main body covers the organizational history, specific management strategies used over different periods, challenges encountered, measured outcomes, and social dynamics with external actors.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include community-based sustainable tourism (CBST), organizational development, sustainability, ecotourism, and community management.
How did the organization handle the loss of their mentor, Dr. Gerry Ortega?
The organization was able to survive the crisis because of the foundational training in bottom-up decision-making and the internal management skills they had acquired during his mentorship period.
What role did the Dos Palmas kidnapping incident play in the organization's history?
It caused a severe decline in tourism arrivals, resulting in financial hardship that forced some members to return to environmentally destructive livelihoods, such as charcoal making and slash-and-burn farming, before the organization eventually recovered.
Why did the organization eventually transition into a cooperative?
The transition to TURSCO was made to maximize income, ensure long-term financial viability, and better serve its members through structures like individual savings accounts and diversified livelihoods.
- Quote paper
- Ronald Edilberto Ona (Author), 2018, Community Based Sustainable Tourism in Puerto Princesa City. Ugong Rock Adventures Case History 2014, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/416675
