Community-Based Ecotourism in a Protected Coastal Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities from Guang-Guang Mangrove Park, Pujada Bay, Mati, Philippines
This study evaluates the Guang-Guang Mangrove Park in the Philippines as a multi-stakeholder ecotourism site that, despite favorable visitor attitudes, faces significant infrastructural, governance, and benefit-sharing challenges that currently prevent the full institutionalization of community-based ecotourism principles.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
Coastal mangrove forests are among the most vital ecosystems on Earth. They act as living breakwaters, shielding shorelines from storms and erosion, while their tangled roots provide nurseries for fish and crabs that feed local communities. Beyond these physical protections, mangroves store vast amounts of carbon, helping to slow climate change. Because these forests offer such clear benefits, many places are trying to turn them into ecotourism destinations. The idea is simple: if visitors pay to see the mangroves, that money can fund conservation efforts and provide jobs for local people, creating a cycle where protecting nature also supports livelihoods. However, for this to work, the people living nearby must have a real say in how the tourism is run and how the money is spent. If they are left out of decisions, the project risks becoming just another business that happens to sit on their land, rather than a true partnership that empowers the community.
In the Philippines, a team of researchers set out to test how well this model is working at Guang-Guang Mangrove Park in Mati City. Located within the Pujada Bay Protected Landscape and Seascape, the site features a concrete boardwalk winding through restored mangrove forests, a nursery for young trees, and facilities for visitors. The researchers wanted to know if this park was truly a community-based ecotourism site or if it was merely a place where locals helped with maintenance while outsiders held the power. To find out, they spent several months gathering information from different angles. They walked the boardwalk with local officials and security officers to spot physical problems like trash or damaged signs. They sat down for detailed conversations with twelve key people, ranging from city tourism officers and environmental specialists to leaders of local women's groups and non-profit organizations. Finally, they asked fifty-four visitors who had just finished their walk to fill out a survey about their experience, their feelings toward conservation, and what they thought of the facilities.
The results painted a picture of a place with great potential that has not yet reached its full promise. The visitors who came to Guang-Guang were overwhelmingly local, with nearly eighty percent of survey respondents living in the surrounding area. Most were young, educated, and deeply interested in the environment. They loved the idea of community involvement in conservation and rated the mangrove forest itself as a highly attractive destination. However, their visits were often short, with almost half of them staying for less than an hour. The researchers found that this was not because the scenery was lacking, but because the site lacked basic comforts. There was no electricity and no running water, which meant visitors could not stay for meals, buy souvenirs, or enjoy evening activities. Without these amenities, the park remained a place for a quick photo stop rather than a destination where people could linger and learn.
While the visitors were enthusiastic, the study revealed a significant gap in how the park is managed. The researchers found that while local community members were actively involved in planting trees, cleaning the area, and guarding the site, they had very little influence over the big decisions. The power to set rules, decide how entrance fees would be used, or plan future development rested primarily with government agencies and external organizations. This created a situation where the community was associated with the project but did not control it. The researchers noted that this is a common trap in ecotourism: people are asked to participate in the work, but they are not given a seat at the table where the strategy is decided. Furthermore, the park struggled with a lack of clear rules for collecting and sharing money. Although ninety-four percent of visitors said they would be willing to pay an entrance fee if the money went toward maintenance and community benefits, the current system made it difficult to collect and distribute these funds effectively.
The physical environment also showed signs of stress that the current management structure could not fully address. Despite the beauty of the boardwalk, the researchers observed plastic waste caught in the mangrove roots and signs of vandalism. The lack of interpretation materials, such as clear signs explaining the ecosystem or guided tours, meant that many visitors did not fully understand what they were seeing or why it mattered. The study suggested that without better education and stricter visitor management, the park could suffer from the very problems it aims to solve. The researchers emphasized that simply bringing more tourists to the site would not fix these issues; in fact, without strong governance and clear benefit-sharing systems, increased tourism could lead to more litter, more damage, and greater frustration for the local people who depend on the forest.
The path forward, according to the study, requires a shift in focus from marketing the park to strengthening its foundations. The researchers propose that the site needs to establish a formal committee where local fisherfolk, women's groups, and youth can have a real voice in decision-making. They suggest that the city and environmental agencies should work together to create transparent rules for collecting fees, ensuring that the money directly supports local guides, nursery workers, and site maintenance. Basic infrastructure, like electricity and water, must be prioritized to allow local businesses to flourish and to make the site a place where people want to stay longer. Most importantly, the park needs to transform from a simple walking path into a place of learning, with trained local guides and educational materials that explain the vital role of mangroves. The study concludes that Guang-Guang is a promising start, but for it to become a true model of community-based ecotourism, the people who live there must move from being helpers to being partners who share both the responsibility and the rewards of protecting their coastal home.
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