In recent weeks, we witnessed several water salutes on inaugural flights arriving at Puerto Princesa International Airport. These arrivals signal a positive note that indeed the main aviation portal of the province is opening its floodgates not only to locals, but international tourists, as well. While we see this exciting scenario unfold before our eyes, we can’t help but ask if Palawan is ready to mitigate the ill-effects of the influx of visitors?
Tourism industry brings more job, income and improvement on the socioeconomic status of the local residents. While it creates opportunities for profits, the cost of living is rapidly changing, as well. True enough, the increase of tourism activities may have contributed to the increase of the prices of commodities due to demand and arrival of foreign visitors.
Last year, there were around 900,000 tourists Puerto Princesa City. This 2018, it aimed to reach 1 Million tourists. And while we are aiming for more, involved agencies and stakeholders should not undermine the possible risks brought about by the increased arrivals of tourists. We see varying reports that tourists’ destinations and islands in the province have been littered with plastics and wastes left or produced by domestic or foreign visitors.
The impacts of tourism on the environment is huge. Lack of preparations and control measures could eventually result to a continual degradation of the locality’s vegetation, water and natural state, while its carrying capacity is reaching beyond its limits. Fortunately, Boracay Island has been rehabilitated and soon to be re-opened to public, but how it reached it nearly demise should set as an example to all governing entities.
In March this year, DENR EMB MIMAROPA confirmed that El Nido’s water quality has been improving, but high coliform level was detected in Coron Bay. This is because of lack of sewage treatment facilities that could have filtered and treated the waste water.
The centralized Sewage Treatment Plant in El Nido is under construction, but would take two years to be fully operational and could be a lifesaver to prevent further damage to the water quality in the area. Also, demolition has been instituted in El Nido on 32 establishments that encroached on three-meter easement zone.
Do we need more laws and resolutions to protect our environment? We believe that we have more than enough of these existing rules that need stronger enforcement.
Just as it takes stiff implementation to penalize the erring establishment owners and entities, the government should have more teeth and without biases and not corrupt to iron out issues on environmental woes as the tourism industry is an additional lifeline to the growing economy of the country. We welcome the new international flights and even additional domestic routes but we must be very careful not to imperil and endanger Palawan or else we will turn this tourist boom into bane.
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