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Community Action
Coral Triangle: Protecting Palawan Island
Palawan is one of few remaining large islands in the
Philippines with relatively intact ecosystems and abundant
marine biodiversity. WWF led a project here to improve
access to family planning, deliver integrated messages
about conservation and health and improve the ability of
local groups and government to manage resources
sustainably
Barangay health workers, captains,
WWF Community Conservation Unit manages a USAID- family planning motivators and
trained coastal resource monitoring
funded population, health, and environment (PHE) project volunteers at the parade for the
called Successful Communities from Ridge to Reef. The launching of the Family Planning
Commodity Distribution System of
project provides Reproductive Health Information and Roxas, Palawan, Philippines.
© WWF
Family Planning services in key areas where population
growth has serious impacts on natural resources and
biodiversity.

The PHE project is located on the coast of Palawan Island in the Philippines. Palawan is
one of the last Philippine provinces with relatively intact ecosystems and waters abundant
with marine biodiversity, and yet the island’s marine life is severely threatened. The
human population is predicted to double in less than 30 years, and furthering the stress
on the environment, harmful fishing practices are on the rise. Meanwhile, the
decentralized local governments still have weak capacity in enforcing marine laws or
managing demographic change.

In the two years since its inception, the project has worked
with the district government and local communities to bring
a new contraceptive distribution system to the area;
educated and mobilized midwives, fishermen, government
and community groups to deliver integrated messages
about conservation, health, and family planning (FP); and
improved the capacity of local marine-watch groups and
the government to enforce marine laws.

The Roxas Family Planning Commodity Distribution

System
In 2005, supplies of free pills and condoms that had been
distributed in the Roxas municipality were suddenly
A Philippine fisherman practicing
unavailable. At the national level there were no funds to pay seaweed farming - a sustainable
for the supplies. However, within months of the outage, the alternative when fish stocks are under
pressure.
WWF PHE Project was initiated to fill the commodities © WWF / Judy Oglethorpe
gap.

Partnering with the Municipal Health Officer, the project

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helped motivate the passage of a municipal resolution urging the barangays (local village
governments) to allocate funds for the purchase of contraceptives and the establishment
of a commodities distribution system. This time, however, they were no longer going to be
distributed for free but sold at prices calculated to ensure sustainability of the program
and accessibility to the poorest members of the municipality.

The system was launched on November 27, 2006. The supplies are dispensed by
community-based distributors and local pharmacies who sell oral contraceptives,
injectables, and condoms. In addition to commodity distribution, several Barangay Health
Workers and other FP outreach workers conduct informational sessions about family
planning, Family Planning Action Sessions, for couples with an unmet need for family
planning.

Family Planning Action Session (FPAS) Outreach Workers

Melogen Tipon, a 32-year-old mother of three, became an

FP outreach worker after attending a training session
conducted by WWF-Philippines and Save the Children.
She is one of 25 FP volunteers in Roxas who have been
trained by the PHE Project. The volunteers conduct
meetings with couples in their communities to talk about
the links between population, health and environment and
the importance of planning family sizes so that families can Melogen Tipon with her husband
continue to be healthy, and parents can provide for their and two sons.
© WWF
children without negatively impacting the environment.

In her role as an FP outreach worker, Melogen says that

she has improved her knowledge of reproductive health and contraception. “With the new
knowledge I was able to explain not only to my husband but also to my neighbors about
contraception and other FP methods that are available for men and women. So far I have
talked to four other women who are interested in using IUD. Being a user myself, I can
really talk to them about my own experience and can correct any misconceptions they
have about the IUD."

Saving Dugong on the Coral Triangle

The gentle Dugong inhabits shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific, wherever sea grass is
most abundant. Like other sea cows, the Dugong lives a long life but breeds slowly -
making it vulnerable to local eradication.

A beached dugong was saved from certain death when 15-year-old Mark Florende found
the marine mammal and reported it to the PHE Project. A rescue team of local volunteers
and WWF staff was immediately dispatched. After ensuring it was unwounded, the
volunteers gently towed the Dugong to safety allowing it to swim off. Amidst cheers, the
team watched the Dugong disappear into Palawan’s turquoise waters.

Mark attributed his ability to identify the Dugong and realize its importance to a poster

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used by the local PHE Project. The poster described the Dugong, the threats it faced, and
provided contact information in case of sightings of Dugong catching or beaching.

After Only Two Years

There is growing evidence that integrated PHE programming increases community

comprehension of the complex linkages between population, health, and the environment
and can lead to quick improvements in marine conservation outcomes. After only two
years, already the program’s success is evident.

The government has passed resolutions providing increased support for marine
enforcement, boat fuel, and purchase of family planning commodities
Many couples are attending premarital counseling sessions on family planning that,
through the project’s efforts, have now become a standard protocol for the district
Stakeholders are now motivated and participating in demarcating new marine
protected areas
The project has measured increased participation of communities in reporting and
monitoring marine turtles, dugongs, and illegal fishing practices like dynamite and
cyanide poisonings

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