Park-people relationships: the case of the St. Paul Subterranean National Park and its neighbouring communities, Palawan, Philippines

Abstract

The establishment of protected areas is one of many strategies designed to conserve and protect nature. Unfortunately, some park planners and managers maintain the view that human use or settlement in national parks is incompatible with conservation objectives. Protected area managers must recognize that national parks are not self-contained islands which can be managed in isolation from surrounding communities. In developing countries such as the Philippines, ignoring the dependence of the local people on park resources for subsistence needs and emphasizing law enforcement will aggravate conflicts between the local people and park managers and will not fulfil nature conservation objectives.

This thesis has explored the relationship between the St. Paul Subterranean National Park and its neighbouring communities. Field research involving local people, local concessionaires, and park staff and managers was undertaken to examine the effects of park designation on the values and attitudes of the local people toward the Park. The methods used were questionnaire interviews of Cabayugan residents and pagtatanong-tanong ("asking questions") of local people, park staff and managers, and local concessionaires. In this study, pagtatanong-tanong has been the most appropriate research technique even though it is very time consuming.

The importance of St. Paul Subterranean National Park is acknowledged by both the respondents and informants of this research. Park designation is viewed positively as a means of achieving nature conservation objectives. Subsequently, management is seen to be more effective if park managers consider the social context of the local people.