DOLPHIN WATCH PAMILACAN, PHILIPPINES

Finalist Conservation Award 2006

The Pamilacan Island Dolphin and Whale Watching Organization (PIDWWO) was founded as a people's organisation (PO) in 1998 when the banning of whale shark hunting was implemented in the country.

Pamilacan Island, off the Municipality of Baclayon, is located within the central part of the Philippines, in the province of Bohol, which is one of the country's favorite tourist island destinations. The rich waters surrounding this 144-hectare piece of land is part of the country's main migration routes for cetaceans. There are 13 recognised cetacean species which can be seen in Pamilacan.

Whaling had existed in Pamilacan for over a hundred years. In fact, the island's name was derived from the Visayan "pamilak", which means using a large hook to hand-spear whales, manta rays, whale sharks and sometimes dolphins.

In 1997, the cooperation of the Departments of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) conducted a study on the migration of the marine mammals, and proved that the number of animals was alarming indeed. In 1998, whale and dolphin hunting was banned but continued illegally.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - Philippines, under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Marine Mammal Conservation (IATFMMC), started to implement a community-based whale-watching project in Pamilacan. This was to provide the islanders with an alternative or supplementary livelihood in response to the recent banning of whale shark hunting, which was the people's primary livelihood.

PIDWWO was the beneficiary of the WWF's project. In cooperation with the IATFMMC, a series of trainings was conducted to prepare the organisation for the dolphin and whale watching tours.

In 2002, PIDWWO was offered the assistance by the Philippine National Ecotourism Development Programme.

Since then Dolphin Watch Pamilacan is now financially self-sustaining. After initial assistance from WWF Philippines and the New Zealand Agency for International Development (2002-2004), the business has at last made it on its own for the last two years. The organisation is debt-free and is presently implementing expansion projects.

Dolphin Watch Pamilacan has a mutually beneficial partnership with a private tour operator (Travel Village) which handles most of its marketing and sales. This is a successful and win-win situation. Dolphin Watch Pamilacan is owned and managed by the Pamilacan Island Dolphin and Whale Watching Organization (PIDWWO).

In a community of 1,600 residents, Dolphin Watch Pamilacan employs local guides, boatmen, cooks and waiter. In 1999, none of these jobs existed. The Pamilacan Island Dolphin and Whale Watching Organization (PIDWWO) has ninety-eight individual members. They are a major force in the community.

Currently, because of the success of the dolphin watching tours, the members of the community who initially opposed the activity are now operating this tour themselves. Most of the whale-hunting boats in the island have been turned into dolphin watching boats. The whole community is now protecting the marine mammals in the area because they have now realised that these animals are more valuable alive than dead.