“We need to reduce the impact of the effects of climate change on tourist destinations”-

Benigno S. Aquino III, President of the Philippines, believes that the Philippines is an excellent tourism destination, thanks to several natural advantages and the wonderful hospitality of its people. On the other hand, climate change is a threat not simply to the industries or to the economies, but also a grave threat to all people. The sooner one agrees on a systematic, concerted effort to address the problem, a more profound impact on changing the effects of climate change can be made at the earliest.

Excerpts from President Aquino’s speech at the UNTWO ASEAN International Conference on Tourism and Climate Change, held on May 19, 2014 in Legazpi City, Bicol.

Tourism

In 2013, we witnessed 4.68 million international tourists, 10 per cent higher than the previous year. We remain committed to reaching the 10 million mark in about two years. In 2011, we beat our initial 2016 target of 35.5 million domestic travellers, recording 37.5 million in 2011 alone. We met our target for 2016 five years ahead of schedule. This has pushed us to set our sights higher. Now we have increased our 2016 target to 56.1 million domestic travellers, and we will remain in active pursuit of this target as well.

One of the best examples of how tourism, particularly ecotourism, can revitalise a community is the municipality of Donsol, in Sorsogon, in this region. With the help of the Department of Tourism and the World Wide Fund for Nature, the local government of Donsol was able to capitalise on the presence of whale sharks, or Butandings, around their waters. Largely due to the economic and social benefits of the project, as well as the active participation of the local community, Donsol went from being a sixth-class municipality to being a first-class municipality in less than five years. A municipality falls to the sixth class when it earns less than PhP 15 million annually over the previous four calendar years. A first-class municipality, on the other hand, needs to have an annual average income of PhP 55 million or more, so [it must increase] from PhP 15 million to at least PhP 55 million. This growth has been felt across the board, most especially by the fishermen, whose income has risen from PhP 300 a day to more than PhP 1,000 a day, depending on the season. On top of all this, the Butanding has become an icon of Philippine tourism; it is even featured on the backs of our hundred-peso bills.

Truly, the success of Donsol is one that we want to replicate in many other potential tourist spots. The long-term viability of such programmes, however, is tied to how we deal with the problem of climate change. It is true that we have some of the best beaches and dive spots in the world; sadly, these areas are also the ones most vulnerable to climate risk – whether in the form of loss of biodiversity or coastal erosion.

Our immediate response: to plan ahead and to reduce the impact of the effects of climate change on our tourist destinations, amongst others.

Clearly, as long as tourism can be pursued in a sustainable manner, then it is certainly one of the best sectors to focus on, and one of the shortest and most efficient paths to inclusive growth.

Climate change

The government has included climate-change adaptation and mitigation, as well as disaster-risk reduction and management, amongst the major considerations for future development. Our plan is to mainstream climate-change adaptation with local, sectoral, and national plans – all of which will consequently guide the development of tourist destinations and tourism activities per locality. With the increasing risks of climate change, this is something we encourage other ASEAN member countries, as well as countries around the world, to look into.

Of course, we must also address the problem in the long term by striking a productive, sustainable balance as regards our reliance on fossil fuels. We have taken significant steps in this regard. For instance, we have introduced incentives that promote private sector investments in renewable energy projects. This initiative has borne fruit. The 22 MW San Carlos solar energy plant, the first large-scale commercial solar plant in the country, has been inaugurated. This is a major step in expanding our country’s energy mix and in limiting the devastating effects of overdependence on traditional energy sources.

To truly fix the problem, however, efforts such as this cannot come from just one country. This responsibility falls on the shoulders of every person, community, city, and nation, especially the ones that contribute a comparatively high amount of greenhouse gas emissions.