Philippines Integrated Coastal Management: Diverging Stakeholder Agendas and Elite Co-option in the Babuyan Islands

The document examines the implementation of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) in the Babuyan Islands, Philippines, arguing that the paradigm's assumption of a definable 'equilibrium' ecosystem state is undermined by diverging local agendas. It finds that the resulting collapse of the ICM framework allows local elites and 'strongmen' to co-opt resource access through unethical influence and patronage networks. This process marginalizes poor fisherfolk and leads to continued environmental degradation, including illegal fishing and metal salvaging from shipwrecks, while disempowering national line agencies like BFAR and DENR.

• The ICM paradigm is based on the assumption that coastal ecosystems have an ideal 'equilibrium' state that can be defined by policy makers and conservation scientists.
• The definition of the ideal ecosystem state is primarily driven by the state, international NGOs, and foreign aid agencies to promote their own interests.
• The implementation of ICM is hindered by widely diverging stakeholder agendas, where local actors' views on the 'ideal' ecosystem state determine whether they support policy goals.
• National line agencies, specifically the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), are disempowered by the gap between the ICM worldview and local reality.
• The failure of the ICM paradigm allows elite alliances and 'strongmen' to capture resource access at the province, municipality, and barangay levels through unethical influence.
• In the Babuyan Islands, the collapse of ICM assumptions leads to the further marginalization and victimization of fisherfolk and the coastal environment.
• Local elites in the Babuyan Islands prioritize tourism development and food production over conservation goals, such as humpback whale protection, and view outside interventions as challenges to their autonomy.
• Environmental degradation continues in the region through activities such as compressor diving, cyanide and dynamite fishing, and the blasting of shipwrecks for metal salvaging.
• Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Councils (FARMCs), intended to institutionalize fisherfolk's role in planning, have largely become inactive 'shell organisations' due to political shifts and lack of funding.

APA

Larsen, R. K., Acebes, J. M., & Belen, A. (2010). Philippines Integrated Coastal Management: Diverging Stakeholder Agendas and Elite Co-option in the Babuyan Islands. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WorkingPaper-Larsen-PhilippineIntegratedCoastalManagement.pdf

Chicago

Larsen, Rasmus Klocker, Jo Marie Acebes, and Alejandro Belen. Philippines Integrated Coastal Management: Diverging Stakeholder Agendas and Elite Co-option in the Babuyan Islands. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2010. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WorkingPaper-Larsen-PhilippineIntegratedCoastalManagement.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Larsen |first1=Rasmus Klocker |last2=Acebes |first2=Jo Marie |last3=Belen |first3=Alejandro |title=Philippines Integrated Coastal Management: Diverging Stakeholder Agendas and Elite Co-option in the Babuyan Islands |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=October 2010 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WorkingPaper-Larsen-PhilippineIntegratedCoastalManagement.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{larsen2010philippines, author = {Larsen, Rasmus Klocker and Acebes, Jo Marie and Belen, Alejandro}, title = {{Philippines Integrated Coastal Management: Diverging Stakeholder Agendas and Elite Co-option in the Babuyan Islands}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2010}, month = oct, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WorkingPaper-Larsen-PhilippineIntegratedCoastalManagement.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }