Young people’s preferences for mangrove conversation in baybay city, leyte, philippines

DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Degree Program Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management Student Name Jemimah Cester Valladores

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY

VALLADORES, JEMIMAH CESTER

YOUNG PEOPLE’S PREFERENCES FOR MANGROVE CONSERVATION

IN BAYBAY CITY, LEYTE, PHILIPPINES

BACHELOR THESIS

Study Mode: Full-time Major: Environmental Science and Management Faculty: Advanced Education Program Office Batch: 2018-2021

Thai Nguyen, 08/06/2022

DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT

Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry

Degree Program Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management

Student Name Jemimah Cester Valladores

Thesis Title Young People’s Preferences for Mangrove

Conversation in Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines Supervisor (s) Truong Thi Anh Tuyet, PhD

Supervisor’s Signature

Abstract:

Mangrove ecosystems bring a variety of benefits to both the people and the environment They not only serve as protection against storm and wind surges but also are natural habitats to different marine organisms However, despite these benefits, mangrove forest areas are still exploited for economic reasons Anthropogenic activities, such as profitable pond farming systems contribute greatly to mangrove loss Another is because of natural causes, specifically that of Super typhoon Haiyan, as the most prominent reason for mangrove loss in Baybay City, Leyte Nevertheless, this is slowly changing as people are now becoming more aware of the benefits that mangrove ecosystems bring to the people, animals, and the environment as a whole In this study, the researcher found out the preferences of the young people of Baybay City, Leyte about mangroves and mangrove conservation programs A contingent valuation method through open-ended format was used in this study upon analyzing the respondent’s willingness

to pay Out of the 205 respondents, 93 answered yes, but only 80 were valid and counted The parametric estimate of the mean WTP was PHP480 (US$9.19) Demographic variables such as gender, age, year level, major, and monthly income and allowance were found to be statistically insignificant to the WTP of the respondents that answered yes The results of this study can be used by the LGUs, NGOs, and other stakeholders to help them be more knowledgeable about the local’s responses to conservation and rehabilitation acts proposed, specifically the young people

Keywords:

Mangroves, Mangrove conservation programs, Contingent valuation method, Willingness to pay, Open-ended format, Baybay City

Number of pages: 43

Date of Submission: 02/06/2022

I would like to acknowledge and give my warmest thanks to my supervisor, Dr Truong Thi Anh Tuyet Thank you for all your comments, suggestions, advices, and guidance in the writing process of my thesis I would also like to thank Dr Dennis Peque, dean of the College of Forestry and Environmental Science in Visayas State University for allowing and assisting

me throughout my survey To all the students of Visayas State University who took part in answering my survey, thank you for your participation, with a special mention for Ms Virgilyn Balbuena You were all such a great help

I would also like to extend my gratefulness to my family, Papa Ferdie, Mama Fe, and Ate Aya, and friends, Pamilyang Solid and BTK, as a whole for your unending support and motivation in me throughout my research Your continuous faith and understanding have helped me finish my thesis; despite all

of the struggles I have faced SLMT as well to SB19 for inspiring me to go up and move forward, MAHALIMA!

Last but not least, I would like to thank God for the strength He has given that sustained me with all the sleepless nights and breakdowns I have gone through I would never have made it this far without His faithfulness and goodness in my life In everything that I do, I do it all to glorify Him Padayon!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES I

LIST OF TABLES II

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS III

PART I INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Research Rationale 1

1.2 Research Objectives 4

1.3 Research Questions and Hypotheses 4

1.4 Limitations 5

1.5 Definitions 6

PART II LITERATURE REVIEW 8

2.1 A History on Local Mangrove Conservation 8

2.2 Community-based Management Systems 9

2.3 Local Awareness on Mangrove Conservation 10

PART III MATERIALS AND METHODS 12

3.1 The Contingent Valuation Method 12

3.2 The Approach 12

3.3 Estimation of Influential Factors 13

3.4 The Survey 14

PART IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 17

4.1 General Information of the Respondents 17

4.2 Awareness and Attitude of Young People on Mangrove Conservation 18

4.3 Willingness to Pay Analysis 22

PART V CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 28

REFERENCES 30

APPENDIX 34

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: The map of Southern Leyte and Landuse map of Baybay

City, Leyte

Figure 2: Respondents’ interest in mangrove conservation

Figure 3: Reasons the respondents don’t want to be informed

Page 15

Page 19

Page 20 Figure 4: The probability of the willingness to pay of respondents Page 22 Figure 5: Reasons the respondents chose not to participate Page 23 Figure 6: Reasons the respondents chose to participate Page 24 Figure 7: Histogram on the frequency of the WTP of the respondents Page 25

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Basic statistics for socioeconomic characteristics of

respondents

Page 17

Table 2: Prioritization of environmental issues

Table 3: Attitude on mangrove education

Table 4: Summary of the Likert Scale Responses

Page 18 Page 19 Page 21 Table 5: Estimation results for Mangrove Conservation Programs (in

PART I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Research Rationale

Tropical storms and hurricanes are not new scenarios for the Philippines The country is located within the typhoon belt and just beside the Pacific Ocean, where typhoons normally form Ever since then, Philippines has experienced overcoming different natural calamities that has made the country known to be resilient However, due to the rapid change in climate and the extreme pollution over the past years, resiliency may not be enough to bounce back and combat the damages brought by these natural disasters Acosta et al (2016) explained that the Philippines is experiencing typhoon-induced floods and landslide damages due to the frequent and intense tropical cyclones that are happening recently These events cause psychological distress to the citizens and are affecting their adaptation methods Considering this, the Philippines is not only looking for adapting measures to counter the effects, rather mitigation measures to, if not end, lessen the effects and damages of the natural calamities One study in the Philippines focuses on analyzing the community-based forest management (CBFM) sites and how they would help mitigate climate change They are focused in looking for the benefits of agroforestry farms (Lasco et al., 2010) In relation to this, another action that can help mitigate the effects

of typhoons are mangroves According to a study by Barbier (2016), mangrove ecosystems serve as protection against the damages that typhoons cause They attenuate the disasters, such as property loss, injuries, deaths, that hurricanes and tropical storms bring to the community Mangroves do not only protect the people and the land properties; they also help protect lessen the damages caused by wind from

storm surges A study conducted by Das and Crépin (2013) stated that an additional evidence of mangrove benefits shows that they reduce wind damage in houses amounted to approximately US$177 per hectare at 1999 prices

Despite of the benefits and protection that mangroves provide; it cannot be denied that they are continuously exploited for economic reasons Conforming to the article by Goldberg et al (2020), global mangrove losses can be traced from anthropogenic and natural activities Over the periods between 2000-2016, it was estimated that around 62% of the losses are from change in land use The conversion

of mangrove forest areas to aquaculture and agriculture areas for economic purposes can be accounted to this Also, around 80% of this human-driven losses happened within Southeast Asian nations This is accurately true in the Philippines The construction of brackish water pond is seen as a reason for around 50% of the mangrove loss in the whole country Many people were enticed with the profitable pond farming systems This so happened due to the economic benefits that can be acquired from this, even though loss of mangrove systems is the consequence of this activity (Primavera, 1995) A significant increase in mangrove loss also occurred during the incidence of Super Typhoon Haiyan The provinces of eastern Samar and western Samar were severely affected of the damages, but the Super Typhoon’s intensity slowly decreased as it went across from eastern to western Visayas However, mangrove resiliency was seen after the unexpected phenomenon when severely, moderately, and minimally damaged mangroves decreased by 90%, 81%, and 57%, which is an evidence that they should be conserved (Long et al., 2016)

Mangroves have proven to be quite essential for the community They offer a variety of benefits and protection to humans, animals, and the environment as a whole Nonetheless, they are still often neglected and abused by people for financial opportunities But recently, this perception is slowly changing, and a lot more people are starting to raise awareness about mangrove conservation As per Sandilyan and Kathiresan (2012), mangroves should be conserved globally for they serve as a habitat for a variety of marine organisms As a matter of fact, mangroves are seen to contain rich biological and genetic diversity This is one of the reasons why conserving mangroves should be prioritized It is difficult to bring back species and natural habitat lost Moreover, mangrove habitats are natural defenses against flood damages in the Philippines They reduce flooding to 23% of the people, which are below the poverty line Mangroves save possible economic losses, around 1.7 billion US$ damages were prevented presently (Menéndez et al., 2018) An effective way of conserving mangrove forest areas is by working together hand-in-hand in raising awareness and physically protecting them from any exploiters that plan on harming them A study by Walters (2004) stated that local community-based management may be a better way in conserving mangroves This action can be a successful economic innovation locally, especially if they are educated of mangroves’ benefits to their homes, livelihood, and community as a whole Taking that into account, this study aims to know young people’s preferences in conserving the mangrove forest areas in Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines, as no such research has been done before yet Knowing the awareness and knowledge of the youth when it comes to mangroves, their role and benefits, and conservation is the main focus of this study This will be essential for determining the

proper conservation programs to develop This will help the local government and community in creating collaborative solutions for awareness and actions for conservation

1.2 Research Objectives

● Purpose:

The purpose of this study is to assess and understand young people’s preferences when it comes to mangrove conservation in Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines

● Specific Objectives:

o To identify the awareness of the youth about mangroves and mangrove

conservation in Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines

o To determine the average amount of money the youth are willing to pay and

participate in mangrove conservation programs in Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines

o To recognize the factors that influence the WTP attitude of the youth in

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines

1.3 Research Questions and Hypotheses

● Main Question:

What are young people’s preferences when it comes to mangrove conservation

in Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines?

● Specific Research Questions:

o How well aware are the youth about mangroves and mangrove conservation

in Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines?

o How much are the youth willing to pay and participate in mangrove

conservation programs in Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines?

o Are there factors that influence the WTP attitude of the youth in Baybay

City, Leyte, Philippines?

● Hypotheses

o The young people of Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines are not well aware of

mangrove and mangrove conservation programs

o The young people of Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines are not willing to pay

and participate in mangrove conservation programs

o There are no factors that influence the WTP attitude of the young people in

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines

1.4 Limitations

The general purpose of this study is to assess the preferences and awareness of the undergraduate students of Visayas State University regarding their knowledge about mangroves and their willingness to pay and participate in mangrove conservation programs in Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines

The data used in this study are gathered through an online survey, Google Forms Due to the ongoing pandemic, restriction protocols and safety measures were thoroughly followed and conducting a face-to-face survey has not been made possible The results evaluated from the 205 respondents mainly focus and discuss their

socioeconomic characteristics, prioritization of environmental issues, probability of accepting ecosystem conservation, and correlation of the WTP and demographic variables of the respondents

This study is conducted with limited resources and tools For one, there is no comparison of formats used in this research An open-ended approach is the only CVM and analyzation format applied in this study and not a dichotomous choice format Second, solely a parametric estimation through regression analysis is done to measure the correlation between the influential factors and the WTP of the respondents Thirdly, since random sampling and snowball sampling were the methods used to find respondents for this study, the number of people per gender, age, year level, and major are not equal with each other

Preference is prioritizing or the principle of giving advantages to some over others It

is allowing the power to choose what one is in favor of

Awareness is an individual’s knowledge and comprehension about a certain subject or topic that is happening or existing

Willingness to Pay (WTP) is the maximum amount a person is willing to pay for a commodity, good or service It tells how much value an individual puts through monetary form

Community-based Management (CBM) is a bottom-up approach wherein local stakeholders participate in the development, planning, research, and policy making for the economy and community and is led by an upper government or NGO

Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) is the most commonly used survey-based method to know the economic value of nonmarket resources It is usually done by finding out a person’s WTP

PART II LITERATURE REVIEW

The review of related literature shows an extensive discussion of previous literature regarding the topic of research It will present and discuss the similarities of this research paper to the previous studies, as well as the gaps that this research paper will be filling in The preferences of the youth towards conserving mangroves or mangrove conservation programs and projects will be tackled in this review of related literature

2.1 A History on Local Mangrove Conservation

The role of mangroves in the community cannot be denied They serve as protection from typhoon induced damages and catastrophes, as well as habitat for a variety of species With this, conservation acts were created to help save the mangrove forest areas that were being exploited mainly due to human civilization According to Garcia et al (2013), the Philippines is home to at least 50% of the world’s 65 mangrove species; however, they are threatened due to different natural calamities and anthropogenic activities Despite this, the Philippine Plant Conservation Committee did not include any of the endangered mangrove species in the National Red List The continuous decline of the mangrove species population has led the local government units (LGUs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) create conservation and rehabilitation acts, specifically incorporating the community From being a capital-concentrated government, the implementation of the Local Government Code (R.A 7160) of 1991 removes this biasness and allows specific projects and programs to be developed for certain regions and provinces that need them the most The prioritization

of mangrove planting is executed as a start of the conservation and rehabilitation acts

(Primavera, 2000) As a matter of fact, generating more mangrove plantations are seen

to be solutions to the endangerment of mangrove species Walters (2004) mentioned that mangrove planting are efficient management systems wherein they are considered

as successful economic innovations

2.2 Community-based Management Systems

The efforts of the LGUs and NGOs in rehabilitating and conserving the mangrove forest areas brought positive change in the community Nonetheless, this has not been made possible without the help of the latter themselves Research has proven that community-based management systems provide better results in protecting and restoring mangrove species One particular research found out that informing and training the right people will help transform the focus of the government from aquaculture ponds to the threatened ecosystem This can be considered as an effective and efficient approach as a conservation tool for mangrove forest areas (Farley et al., 2010) Even so, the participation of the community in conservation and rehabilitation projects still has some drawbacks In an article explained by Pulhin et al (2017), 5 key issues regarding community-based management systems were disclosed These are

“elusive tenure rights of the local people toward the mangrove trees they planted, insufficient alternative livelihoods, wrong motivation for participation in reforestation projects, poor species-site match in reforestation, and poor coastal land use zoning” However, it is still undeniable that community-based approach is an appropriate way for the protection and restoration of mangrove species The key issues identified were regarded as minor issues As stated by Gevaña et al (2019), community-based management systems are a win-win situation when it comes to protecting and restoring

mangrove forest areas Mangrove species were found out to have the largest carbon stock This offers a wholesome number of benefits to and for the community and as a climate change mitigation act

2.3 Local Awareness on Mangrove Conservation

To achieve a community-based management system, it is necessary to ensure that the local community are well aware of the importance of mangrove forest areas According to Alimbon and Manseguiao (2021), the locals in Panabo City, Davao del Norte, Philippines were aware of mangroves’ existence and services to a certain extent They use mangroves as food source only, but not for medicinal purposes as they are not knowledgeable of these While in Eastern Samar, Philippines, the way the coastal villagers use mangrove ecosystem services is impacted by their social demographics and their level of awareness This is to say that the locals’ perceptions

on ecosystem services motivate their actions and support in conservation (Quevedo, et al., 2019) Understanding mangrove forest areas as an essential part of the ecosystem will help reach the goal of incorporating the participation of the community towards conserving and rehabilitating mangrove species and creating more mangrove plantations Educating and motivating the direct stakeholders of mangrove species are key-drivers for a successful community-based management systems Identifying the knowledge, awareness, and perceived value of the locals will establish better solutions

in managing mangrove conservation projects (Creencia & Querijero, 2018) When super typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines last 2012, the destruction of mangroves was severe Fortunately, conservation and rehabilitation acts helped improve the situation, especially with the participation of the local community In line with Reyna et al

(2020), a definite way of developing a thriving conservation and rehabilitation program is by starting with informing and educating the importance and benefits of mangrove species to the local residents This can be done by executing seminars, symposia, workshops, and meetings for the community

This study aims to integrate young people’s awareness on mangrove conservation programs by determining their willingness to pay and participate It has been mentioned multiple times before that community-based management systems are

an effective and efficient way in protecting and rehabilitating mangrove species This

is the reason why it is important to identify how well-aware and willing are the youth

in acting upon the knowledge that they have obtained Knowing the preferences of the youth towards mangrove conservation programs will help the LGUs, NGOs, and other stakeholders to develop proper solutions in achieving the goal to conserve, protect, rehabilitate, and restore mangrove forest areas in Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines

PART III MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1 The Contingent Valuation Method

Contingent valuation method is a stated preference (survey) approach for market valuation of public goods, such as ecosystems There are two formats of CVM that are used The first is open-ended format wherein participants state the maximum amount they are willing to pay, and second is single-bounded or double-bounded dichotomous format wherein participants choose from the given amount (bid) in the survey how much they are willing to pay (Boyer, et al., 2017) This study used the first format only in determining the true WTP of the young people as it is one of the most commonly used format in CVM studies (Ahmed & Gotoh, 2007) The respondents’ socioeconomic characteristics such as gender, age, allowance, income, and demographic information are also gathered in order to determine the true WTP (Markandya & Ortiz, 2011)

non-Contingent valuation studies have some limitations Since it’s a hypothetical market situation proposed to the respondents, it was a concern that they may behave differently, such as overestimating their WTP, compared to a real-life situation It’s a central problem for contingent valuation studies to make sure that the scenarios laid out are plausible However, these problems have already been addressed and the wide-spread use of CVM resulted in “good practice” protocols and manuals, which makes the data for this type of research to be reliable (Markandya & Ortiz, 2011)

3.2 The Approach

This study used an open-ended approach to know the WTP of the respondents First, a yes or no question was asked whether the participants were willing to pay for

programs regarding mangrove conservation Then, it was followed up with an ended question about how much they are willing to pay wherein the respondents stated their maximum WTP

open-Upon finding out the true WTP of the respondents concerning the mangrove conservation programs in Baybay City, Leyte, there were different variables considered These variables are essential factors that influence the perspective of the youth and are included in determining the true WTP The formula is written as follows:

= ∑

To calculate the mean WTP of the respondents, there are two variables needed The = the sum of the amount they are willing to pay over = the total number

of respondents who were willing to pay is done

3.3 Estimation of Influential Factors

In this study, there are two groups influencing the WTP of the respondents namely, the economic factors and socioeconomic factors To know how these factors influence the WTP, there is a model presented below:

WTP = (Economic factor, socioeconomic factors)

For representing the probability of each result, a multi-response model is more appropriate A logit model is used to investigate the factors influencing WTP since there is more than one dependent variable (Le, et al., 2016)

3.4 The Survey

• Questionnaire Design

The contingent valuation questionnaire was thoroughly constructed to emphasize on the hypothetical market condition The participants were notified that the information they provided would be used for academic reasons in order to realize the young people’s awareness and perceptions regarding the economic value of mangrove conservation programs in a simulated situation, not really in actuality This helped the respondents feel less pressured and therefore were able to state their true WTP, avoiding the possibility of providing false information or refusing the survey The questionnaire has 3 sections namely, demographic, knowledge about mangroves and attitude on conservation, and the conservation plan for mangroves The first section asks about the respondents’ basic information including their monthly allowance and salary, if applicable, and their financial priorities The second section includes the respondents’ awareness in conserving mangroves and their prioritization towards it and other environmental issues Finally, the third section talks about the respondents’ WTP towards the development of mangrove conservation programs

• Survey Process

The survey was given to the young people of Visayas State University in Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines The island of Leyte lies at the east of Cebu and Bohol across the Camotes Sea It is linked by a 7,093-foot (2,612 meter) bridge, known as the San Juanico Bridge, at the Southwest of the island of Samar Baybay City is the second largest city in Leyte It has a population of

109, 400 as of 2015 and is estimated to increase by 1.25% every year, which will have a predicted population of 117, 901 in 2021 The study area mentioned was chosen due to the fact that there are a variety of mangrove species in the island

Fig 1 The map of Southern Leyte and Landuse map of Baybay City, Leyte

Source: PhilAtlas Profile for Leyte and Baybay City, Leyte (2020)

An online survey with 205 randomly selected Baybay residents were conducted using a contingent valuation questionnaire The young people are the focus of this study considering they are the future leaders, workers, environmentalists, and conservationists in the making It is important to know how aware and willing they are in participating to conservation programs Due

to the pandemic, the survey was done online with the use of Google Forms, an online platform used to perform surveys The three sampling techniques applied

in this study were stratified sampling, systematic random sampling, and snowball sampling The sample population were grouped within a specific stratum, and were chosen randomly for a limited number of samples (StatTrek, 2020) The survey was conducted between 20May and 09 November 2021

• Data Analysis

The software tool used for analyzation was Microsoft Excel The researcher organized the data in excel first before performing a regression analysis using the built-in tool in excel for the WTP of the respondents Aside from this, the researcher also used excel in creating the figures and tables that were used for the results part to clearly show the summarized data that answered each research questions

PART IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 General Information of the Respondents

Table 1 shows the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents The distribution of gender shows that there are more female with 64.2% While that of the male is 32.4% and 3.4% preferred not to say their gender The age ranged from 18-30 (age range of college students), with an average of 21 Majority of the respondents are from 3rd year to 4th year, with majors of BS in Civil Engineering (8.5%), BS in Nursing (8.0%), and BS in Social Studies (6.3%) as top 3 Most are not working; therefore, they do not rely on their income, but most have their monthly allowance under ₱5,000 with 58%

Table 1 Basic statistics for socioeconomic characteristics of respondents

4.2 Awareness and Attitude of Young People on Mangrove Conservation

In order to know if mangrove loss is a priority concern among the young people

in Baybay City, Leyte, table 2 below shows the respondents’ attitude towards the prioritization of environmental issues Deforestation and illegal logging issue is the most important, with 24.4% The least important is water pollution with 0%, and so it

is not a priority concern of the young people in Baybay This proves that the respondents give great consideration to deforestation of mangroves, as the latter is a type of shrub or tree However, this result differs from that of Su (2008), wherein air pollution topped the environmental issues the young people in the Philippines are concerned with

Table 2 Prioritization of environmental issues