PROGRAM OVERVIEW

PHILIPPINES
 2 EAFM PROGRAM OVERVIEW

This publication was produced by TetraTech-ARD for the United

States Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of the
implementation of USAID/Philippines’ Ecosystems Improved for Sustainable
Fisheries (ECOFISH) Project under contract number AID-492-C-12-00008.
EAFM PROGRAM OVERVIEW 3

MAINSTREAMING
EAFM PROGRAM

T
he Fisheries Code (R.A. No. 8550, as amended by R.A. No.
10654) recognizes an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries
management (EAFM) as the foundation for managing fisheries
resources. Under EAFM, fisheries management necessarily includes
conserving biodiversity, enhancing ecosystem services and addressing
the impacts of climate change. EAFM entails balancing ecological
well-being and human well-being through good governance - where
resource use benefits are shared equitably, and resource management
is participatory and gender-sensitive.

Beginning in 2016, BFAR is mainstreaming EAFM through facilitating

EAFM planning and implementation processes in identified fisheries
management areas (FMAs), in partnership with local government units
(LGUs), other national government agencies (NGAs), fisherfolk
communities, civil society organizations, private sector, academe and
other stakeholders.
4 EAFM PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The EAFM Planning and Implementation Process1 follows a standard

procedure that promotes common understanding among all stakeholders
of the principles and strategies underlying EAFM. Each identified FMA
prepares and implements an EAFM Plan, where stakeholders agree
on goals, objectives and management actions, and commit to perform
their respective roles in implementing the EAFM Plan. Monitoring and
evaluation are regularly conducted to help ensure the progress and
achievement of the goals and objectives, and that the management
actions are well executed. EAFM Plan is a ‘living document’ that is
regularly refined and updated to address priority issues and problems,
and considers the governance capacity of implementing partners.

1
The EAFM Planning and Implementation Process was developed by BFAR with support from

NOAA and USAID through the ECOFISH Project. The materials used in the EAFM Planning and

Implementation Process Handbook, Workbook and presentations were adapted from the Essential

EAFM Training Course (http://www.boblme.org/eafm/course_materials.html) that was used by

BFAR in a series of trainings conducted by NOAA for all provincial fisheries officers in April 2015.
EAFM PROGRAM OVERVIEW 5

THE EAFM PLANNING

AND IMPLEMENTATION
PROCESS

A. Overview of the stages and steps in the EAFM

Planning and Implementation Process

There are three (3) stages in the process cycle:

1) Plan - prepare the EAFM Plan
2) Do - implement the plan
3) Check and Improve - monitor and evaluate implementation;
adapt implementation based on the evaluation; and revise the plan
if necessary.
6 EAFM PROGRAM OVERVIEW

There are five (5) steps to follow in the process cycle. The first
three steps break down development of the EAFM Plan:
1) Define and scope the fisheries management area;
2) Identify and prioritize issues and goals;
3) Develop the EAFM Plan containing the specific management
actions;

Steps 4 and 5 correspond to the stages of implementation and M&E:

4) Implement the Plan;
5) Monitor and evaluate implementation, adapt and improve the
Plan and/or its implementation.

B. Convening participants to prepare the EAFM Plan

EAFM planning and implementation is a continuing process of engaging
stakeholders to address priority issues. A key principle of EAFM is the
increased participation of stakeholders. However, the scale of an FMA
poses a big challenge in convening stakeholders to discuss and agree on
an EAFM Plan with all its detailed components. Convening thousands of
stakeholders to prepare an EAFM Plan may not be feasible. Keeping
in mind the need for meaningful and effective participation of all
stakeholders at various stages of EAFM planning and implementation,
the process of developing and adopting an EAFM Plan is divided into
three key events that BFAR, as program implementer, leads and
facilitates:

1)
Start-up Workshop - Overview and Start-up Tasks - BFAR
convenes an EAFM Team for the FMA to lay the foundation
for the EAFM planning and implementation process. The
EAFM team learns about EAFM and perform start-up tasks
to prepare for developing the draft EAFM Plan, including
informing other stakeholders of the EAFM planning and
implementation process;
 EAFM PROGRAM OVERVIEW 7

2)
EAFM Planning Workshop - Preparing a draft EAFM Plan for the FMA - the
EAFM team re-convenes, bringing materials and information from stakeholders
needed to develop a draft EAFM Plan;

3)
Stakeholder Consultation - Validation and adoption of the EAFM Plan - the EAFM
Team convenes a stakeholder consultation (with sufficient representation from
all key stakeholder groups) to review and validate and/or revise the draft EAFM
Plan. Stakeholders may agree to adopt the plan (as stakeholders), and/or agree
to a process of formal adoption of the plan by each LGU (through the process
provided under the Local Government Code). The stakeholder consultation is
a continuing process of getting consensus and commitment to implement the
EAFM Plan.

The objectives, participants, expected outputs and agenda of the workshops

and consultations are attached as Annex A.

C. The EAFM Plan

In Workshops 1 and 2, the EAFM Team goes through a guided process of preparing a
draft EAFM Plan. The Modules and Activities in the workshops are designed to enable
participants to discuss and fill-out templates that fit into the various sections of the
EAFM Plan. At the end of the workshops, the EAFM Team will have completed the key
sections of the EAFM Plan outlined below:

EAFM Plan for FMA (Y1-Y5)

1. Vision (Step 1 in the EAFM Planning and Implementation Process Cycle

• Vision statement, illustration of common vision

2. Background (Step 1)
• Description and map of the FMA - ecosystem boundaries, political
jurisdictions
• History of fishing and management in the FMA (timeline, law/policy
background)
• Current status of fisheries resources and fishing livelihoods (baseline
data on fleets, gear, people involved, IUUF, etc.)
8 EAFM PROGRAM OVERVIEW

• Socio-economic profiles (stakeholder groups and their economic/

development status and interests; socio-economic benefits, value chains, etc.
where available).
• Existing management arrangements (using governance benchmarking)
• Special environmental and cultural considerations (protected area, ancestral
domain, vulnerability to climate change/ disasters)
• Information and data needs (gaps)

3. Major issues and problems (Step 2)

• Use risk assessment to prioritize issues and problems

HIGH

LOW IMPACT HIGH IMPACT

VERY LIKELY VERY LIKELY
LIKELIHOOD

LOW IMPACT HIGH IMPACT

UNLIKELY NOT LIKELY

LOW HIGH

IMPACT

4. Goals (Step 2)
• Formulate goals for clustered issues to address priority issues and problems

5. Objectives, indicators and benchmarks (Step 3)

• Setting objectives for each goal; identifying indicators and benchmarks
to measure progress to achieve objectives (including data needs and
data sources)
EAFM PROGRAM OVERVIEW 9

6. Management actions (Step 3) - Identify specific management actions to achieve objectives

7. Institutional arrangements, community empowerment, capacity building

(Step 3)
• Councils, alliances, task forces, TWG, etc.
• Stakeholder rights to participate in decision-making
(through FARMC, and others)
• Strategy and plan to build capacity to implement management actions

8. Monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) framework/ arrangements

9. Sustainable financing (Step 3)

• Estimated costs of implementing management actions
• Source of funds to finance management actions (budget, user fees, etc.)
• Strategy for pooling of funds for inter-LGU/ inter-agency management
actions

10. Implementation plan and communication strategy (Step 4)

• Strategy for continuing stakeholder engagement, especially in
decision-making
• Formulate key messages and appropriate communication strategy
targeting various audiences to build consensus and support for the
EAFM Plan and its implementation
10 EAFM PROGRAM OVERVIEW

11. Monitoring and Evaluation; review of the plan – (Step 5)

• Develop M&E plan that sets methods and frequency of measurement of
indicators under each objective.

References
Annexes

D. Implementation of the EAFM Plan

1.
Role of BFAR (as convener of the EAFM Planning and Implementation
Process; lead agency in implementing actions to manage fisheries
beyond municipal waters; facilitator of inter-agency cooperation/
collaboration);

2.
Roles of partner LGUs (as implemented of LGU actions within its
political jurisdiction; as partner in inter-LGU/ inter-agency collaboration
to implement the EAFM Plan in an ecologically meaningful scale (FMA).
EAFM PROGRAM OVERVIEW 11

ANNEX A: OBJECTIVES,
AGENDA AND EXPECTED
OUTPUTS OF WORKSHOPS
AND CONSULTATIONS

Start-up Workshop - Overview and Start-up Tasks

a. Objectives
• Understand the foundations for EAFM (definition, principles,
process, etc.)
• Complete start-up tasks to prepare for the next workshop to develop
the draft EAFM Plan

b. Participants (around 40 participants) - EAFM Team composed of:

• BFAR regional director(s) (convener), regional focal person for EAFM,
provincial fisheries officer(s) with jurisdiction over the proposed FMA;
• representatives from LGUs (one each, or by cluster)
• representatives of major fisher groups (provincial FARMC, commercial
and municipal fishers)
• representatives of local civil society organizations working on fisheries
issues (scientific, livelihood, community development, legal/policy)
• representatives of private sector (fisheries industry related investors,
resort owners, etc.)
• representatives of local academic institutions (natural and social
scientists)
• representatives of relevant national government agencies (DENR,
DOLE, DSWD, PNP, etc.)
12 EAFM PROGRAM OVERVIEW
c. Expected outputs
• Initial compilation of available background/baseline information on fisheries
resources, habitats, status and livelihoods of fisherfolk communities, etc.)
• Legislative/policy background of the FMA (to establish legal basis for EAFM plan
and implementation)
• Completed start-up tasks (data needs and gaps, stakeholder analysis,
start-up plan)
d. Agenda
DAY 1 DAY 2
What, why & how to of EAFM Understanding the needs for EAFM planning

Arrival of participants 8:30 - 8:35 Recap of Day 1

10:00 – 10:15 Break 8:35 – 10:30 9. Mainstreaming EAFM:

Introduction to management
10:15 – 10:30 Opening program actions

10:30 - 11:00 1. Introduction and overview of 10:30 – 12:00 Break

Mainstreaming EAFM Program
10:30 – 12:00 10. Start-up Tasks
Activity 1 - Hopes, concerns Activity 5 - Information needs
and what we bring to the process for EAFM planning

12:00nn - 1:00pm LUNCH Activity 6 - Identifying EAFM Team

1:00 - 1:30 3. Issues and problems 12:00nn - 1:00pm Lunch

Activity 3 - Identify issues and 1:00 – 2:30 Activity 7 - Stakeholder analysis

problems specific to proposed (matrix and Venn diagram)
FMA
Activity 8 - Stakeholder analysis
1:30 - 2:15 4. The ecosystem approach (assessing level of commitment)

2:15 – 3:00 5. The what and why of EAFM; 2:30 - 3:30 11. Consensus-building /
- Other approaches conflict management

3:00 - 3:45 6. Principles of EAFM 3:30 – 3:45 Break

3:45 – 4:00 Break 3:45 – 4:30 Activity 9 - Conflict management

role-play
4:00 – 4:30 7. EAFM Plans: Linking policies,
plans and action 4:30 - 5:00 Activity 10 - Next steps:
Start-up plan
- How much EAFM are you
already doing? 5:00 - 5:30 Closing program

4:30 -5:15 8. EAFM planning process

overview
Activity 4 - EAFM Steps

6:00pm Welcome dinner and socials

EAFM PROGRAM OVERVIEW 13

EAFM PLANNING WORKSHOP

PREPARING A DRAFT EAFM PLAN FOR THE FMA

a. Objective
• Prepare a draft 5-year EAFM Plan for the FMA

b. Participants
• Same as Workshop 1 - EAFM Team.

c. Expected output
• Draft 5-year EAFM Plan for the FMA

d. Agenda

DAY 1
Define FMA and VISION

Arrival of participants 2:30 - 2:45 Activity 3 - Identify issues and

(ideally participants arrive problems in the FMA (plenary)
the night before)
2:45 - 4:00 Module 2 - Science of fisheries
10:00 - 12:00 (While waiting for arrival of management; what & why of
all participants) EAFM; principles of EAFM
• Registration
• Photo ID/ map 4:00 - 4:15 BREAK
• Hopes, Concerns, What
I bring to the process 4:15 - 4:30 Module 3 - Overview of the
(metacards) EAFM Planning Process
• Fill-out baseline info forms
(Background data for FMA) 4:30 - 5:15 Module 4 - Baseline information
about the FMA; validation of
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch proposed FMA

1:00 - 1:20 Opening Program 5:15 - 6:25 Activity 3 - Define/illustrate

VISION for FMA (by groups
1:20 - 2:00 Activity 1 - Introduction
of Participants (plenary) • Daily evaluation and feedback

2:00 - 2:15 Module 1 - Introduction to 6:30 pm END

Mainstreaming EAFM Program;
recap of Start-up Workshop

2:15 - 2:30 Activity 2 - Synthesis of hopes,

concerns, and what we bring to
the process (plenary)
14
DAY 2
Set GOALS, Prioritize ISSUES
and identify OBJECTIVES
Recap of Day 1 (present VISION)
8:35 - 9:30 Activity 4 - Prioritize ISSUES
and PROBLEMS (clustering of
issues; divide into groups)
9:30 - 10:30 Activity 5 - Define GOALS
(by groups)
10:30 - 10:45am BREAK
10:45 - 11:15 Activity 5 (continued)
• Group report and plenary
discussion of GOALS
11:15 - 12:00 Activity 6 -
Develop OBJECTIVES for each
goal (by groups)
12:00 - 1:00pm LUNCH
1:00 - 2:15 Activity 6 (continued)
• Develop objectives
• Plenary discussion -
refine and agree on set of
objectives to address all
priority issues and problems
1:30 - 2:00 Activity 7 - Reality Check:
OPPORTUNITIES and THREATS;
conflicts map (by groups, plenary
discussion)
2:00 - 4:00 Activity 8 - Develop
INDICATORS and
BENCHMARKS for agreed
objectives under each goal
(by groups)
4:00 - 4:15 BREAK
4:15 - 5:55 Activity 8 (continued)
• Group report and sharing
of indicators and benchmarks
• Daily evaluation and feedback
6:00PM END
EAFM PROGRAM OVERVIEW
DAY 3
Develop MANAGEMENT ACTIONS
Recap of Day 2
8:35 - 10:30 Module 5
Introduction to
MANAGEMENT ACTIONS
• Examples of fisheries
management interventions
• Foundations of livelihood
assistance programs
• Compliance and
enforcement; monitoring,
control and surveillance
(MCS) framework
• Inter-agency, inter-LGU
institutional arrangements
10:30 - 10:45am BREAK
10:45 - 12:00nn Activity 9 - Develop
MANAGEMENT ACTIONS
• Identify management actions
under each objective
(by groups)
12:00 - 1:00pm Lunch
1:00 - 2:30 Activity 9 (continued)
Plenary discussion - refine,
prioritize and agree on set of
management actions to achieve
all objectives
2:30 - 3:30 • Fill-out details of
management actions: identify
specific tasks, roles; set timeframe
(by groups)
3:30 - 3:45pm BREAK
3:45 - 5:55 Activity 10 - Prepare for plenary
presentation (as one FMA team)
of draft EAFM Plan (Goal,
objectives and management
actions)
• Daily evaluation and feedback
6:00PM END
EAFM PROGRAM OVERVIEW 15

DAY 4
Formalize and communicate the PLAN, and M&E

• Recap of Day 3
12:00nn - 1:00 pm LUNCH
8:35 -10:00 Activity 10
• Plenary presentation of 2:45 -3:00 Module 7
draft EAFM Plan for the FMA: Monitoring and evaluation
goal, objectives, management framework
actions
3:00-4:00 Activity 12
10:00 - 10:30 Module 6 Prepare M&E plan (by groups)
Formalizing and communicating
the draft EAFM Plan • Next Steps
10:30 – 10:45pm
BREAK • Commitment ceremony
10:45 – 12:00 • Closing program
Activity 11
Prepare communication plan 4:00pm END
(by groups)

STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION
VALIDATION AND ADOPTION OF THE EAFM PLAN

a. Objectives
• Present overview and rationale for EAFM for the FMA (including background information)
• Present draft EAFM Plan
• Review and comment on the draft EAFM Plan, especially the management actions
(stakeholder workshop)

b. Participants
• Representatives from all key stakeholders identified in the stakeholder analysis during
Workshop 1.

c. Expected output
• Comments on the draft EAFM Plan (especially the management actions)
• Consensus/commitments of support for the adoption and implementation of the EAFM
Plan

d. Agenda
• TBD (it can be a single event convening all representatives of key stakeholders, or a series
of consultations with LGUs, communities, and other key stakeholder groups).

e. Materials needed
• Copies of the draft EAFM Plan for the FMA (finalized Workbook)
• Brief overview presentation on the EAFM Planning
and Implementation Process
• Presentation of background information about the FMA
• Presentation of the key strategies and management actions in the draft
EAFM Plan
BUREAU OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC RESOURCES
PCA Building, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
info@bfar.da.gov.ph