Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park

The World Heritage Centre and IUCN received information from a concerned party regarding a number of threats to the property. On 30 January 2014, the World Heritage Centre requested further information from the State Party on these issues. The State Party subsequently submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property on 1 April 2014, a summary of which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/652/documents. The information received by the World Heritage Centre and IUCN provided information about the following points:

• In December 2012 the boundaries of the national park were changed, reportedly resulting in the exclusion from the national park of critical habitats for a number of threatened and endemic species;
• Development of farms and rubber plantations within the property;
• Inadequate tourism management and an increasing influx of tourists following the declaration of the property as one of the “New 7 Wonders of Nature”, which may exceed the carrying capacity;
• Land grabbing and illegal resort development;
• Illegal wildlife trade, including the trade in pets and the trade for consumption, including supplying the market for bush meat and traditional medicine.

In its response to these issues, the State Party notes that:

• No boundary modification has occurred. On the contrary, the ground demarcation of the boundary as defined by the Presidential Proclamation 212 of 16 November 1999, which is also the reference for the boundaries of the inscribed property, even resulted in a comparative increase of the area;
• Human activities in the multiple use zone, the controlled use zone, and in areas inhabited by indigenous communities are closely monitored by park authorities. Farming activities are highly regulated, and farm developments and traditional slash-and-burn methods are strictly prohibited;
• There are no rubber plantations inside the property;
• Deforestation of at least 1,490 ha has occurred in the property between 2002 and 2007. More recent data are not provided. While the State Party notes that this has occurred in the buffer zone of the property, the maps provided by the State Party suggest that some deforestation has in fact taken place within the property’s boundaries;
• The dramatic increase of tourist arrivals since the declaration of the property as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature is confirmed. Tourism management was deficient; however the situation has much improved since the new park administration took up office in July 2013. The number of allowable visitors is set at 900, well below the carrying capacity of 1400 as recommended by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARD) and the Forestry and Environment Research Division of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). However, it is much higher than the carrying capacity of 342, recommended as an alternative by PCAARD and DENR. The management plan for the property is being reviewed during 2014;
• When the new park administration took up office, there were serious issues with land claims and sales in the property. Initial attempts to address the situation through a land titling process resulted in even more land claims, threatening the forests of the property. In response, a new cadastral survey was initiated, and a Survey and Registration of Protected Areas Occupants (SRPAO) is scheduled in April 2014;
• The new park administration has implemented a number of measures to combat illegal wildlife trade, including increasing the number of rangers from 10 to 21, and round the clock patrols. Since then, no incidents of illegal wildlife trade and hunting were recorded in the property. No information is provided about the scale of illegal wildlife trade and hunting prior to these measures being implemented, nor about any residual impacts.

It is recommended that the Committee welcome the efforts undertaken by the State Party to protect and conserve the property; in particular efforts undertaken to manage tourism and control wildlife trade.

The measures reported by the State Party have been in place only since July 2013, and a number of the possible threats to the property have potential to impact its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). Of particular concern are the issues with land claims and illegal land sales in the property, and the planned SRPAO is welcomed in that regard. In addition, the absence of data on deforestation and the scale of illegal wildlife trade and hunting over the past years makes it difficult to draw conclusions on the current state of conservation of the property. The State Party is developing a new management plan for the property, and this should include regulations for appropriate tourism development, including in the vicinity of the property. The information provided also suggests that areas regarded as buffer zone by the State Party are within the boundaries of the inscribed property. Consequently, there is a lack of clarity regarding which activities are permitted inside the property, and some activities incompatible with OUV may be occurring inside the property.

In order to support a comprehensive resolution of these different issues, it is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to invite an IUCN reactive monitoring mission to the property, to assess its state of conservation, clarify the boundaries of the property and buffer zone, and consider the measures needed to ensure any impacts from the above-mentioned issues and threats are avoided.

Finally, the tourism management system in place at the time of the property’s declaration as one of the “New 7 Wonders of Nature” did not have the capacity to accommodate the increasing influx of tourists resulting from that declaration. Tourism management should be further improved to avoid and mitigate negative impacts on the property.