The Philippines is  one of the richest countries in terms of biodiversity. Because of this, many parts of the country are being developed into ecotourism sites.  In this line, the development of Barangay Magtangtang and adjacent barangays of the municipality of Danao into  ecotourism destinations is a  timely and  relevant intervention. The  activity supports the government’s thrust of developing the Visayas Region under the tourism super region. It takes into consideration the region’s vast ecotourism potentials, primarily that of Bohol Province, within which Danao is located.

Bueno, Jr. et al. (DENR-ERDS 7) in collaboration with LGUs   made a resource assessment of Danao, Bohol . The study aimed  to characterize the resource base of the municipality’s proposed site for an ecotourism development project. These included assessment of terrestrial flora and fauna, hydrological and water quality, hydro-biology of river channels, Philippine tarsier (Tarsius syrichta) habitat, cave resources, and psycho-socio-economic characteristics of communities within and nearby the ecotourism site.

Findings

• Results of the assessment revealed  the area having considerably diverse endemic vegetation.  There were 176 species and 39 faunal species. The river channel was classified as Recreational Water Class I with water quality rated as ‘fair’ to ‘poor’.
• The area was also  qualified as a viable habitat for the Philippine tarsier and a sanctuary for wild life.
• Assessment of the caves revealed   four existing caves having great ecotourism potential  not just because of  their physical and natural features but also because of  their historical values.
• According to a psycho-socio-economic characterization study, the economic condition of the stakeholder communities is poor despite natural treasures of the locality.  There is a need to implement the ecotourism project in order to facilitate the development of a community enterprise. This would help stakeholder communities  uplift their economic condition.

Researchers identified and recommended 19 strategies to support the implementation of the ecotourism development project of the LGUs. These strategies were mainly infrastructure or development interventions needed by the project to become operational. Interventions on infrastructure consisted of constructing several facilities such as fishing deck, viewing deck for bats, phytotron or fences for tarsiers, foot-trails with railings, and several others. Meanwhile, some development interventions were fish culture, formulating and implementing laws, activities on disseminating information, mobilizing existing POs and cooperatives, providing alternative livelihoods, and numerous others. These strategies were found consistent with the principles of sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, and socio-economic alleviation of the stakeholder communities.

Source:Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development.  Highlights 2007