CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

“Boracay Rehabilitation”

Submitted to:
Mr. Tim Joshua Cañega

Submitted by:
Group 04
Topacio, Cassandra Marie M.
Sindac, Lizchelle Kyte J.
De Leon, Kristine Joy D.
Dy, Sandra Soledad A.
Estabillo, Kriszielle L.
Aguilar, Marvic C.

BSTM301-A

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 I. Provide and explain one by one the indicators which prompted the need for
Boracay Island to be closed for rehabilitation.
Boracay Island is a tourist spot in the Philippines. In 2018, the government proposed the need
for the closure of the island for 6 months for rehabilitation purposes. Rehabilitation, in the case
of a tourist spot, means the restoration of the natural environment to bring it back to its original
condition. Boracay island was closed for rehabilitation purpose because of the following
indicators:

Lack of sewage system and wastewater treatment: The shortage of proper sewage systems
and wastewater treatment facilities can lead to increased pollution, diseases and make a place
inhabitable. In Boracay island, there are only 2 sewage systems in 3 barangays implying a lack
of sewage systems. It is important to have a proper sewage system to ensure clean and healthy
surroundings for both humans and animals. Also, the residents of the island don't know the
distinction between the sewage systems meant for flooding rainwater out of the Boracay Island
and those meant for water treatment facilities. This has resulted in wastes being near the
beaches and making the island a cesspool. So, this is one of the main indicators which give a
reason for the government to close the island.

The inability of resorts to manage wastewater: The Philippine government has given
discharge permits to hotels operating on the island. But, the problem is that some hotels are
unable to treat their wastewater as efficiently as others and also, there are increasing the
problem of wastewater management on the island. They are not able to do this because they
do not have the capability for wastewater treatments as it requires hard efforts. Also, the
administrators cannot check their work throughout the day, hence, it creates a barrier on the
part of monitoring. This again indicates why Boracay Island is required to be closed.

Road congestion: The roads on the island are congested more than it can handle. On Boracay
Island, the roads can handle only 1200 vehicles while currently, it is handling 6000 vehicles.
This increases the problem arising from the congestion of roads like pollution, increased waste
of time, increased energy consumption, etc. So, this again gives an affirmative reason for the
government to close the island as the capacity for managing vehicles is less than what it
handles.

Disappearing wetlands: Wetlands play an important role in cleaning the water. These wetlands
tend to treat the rainwater before it is discharged into the sea. On Boracay Island, these
wetlands are disappearing due to the excessive construction of houses, resorts, etc on the
island. Hence, this is another major issue which the government has to deal with during the
closure.

II. Explain the effects of the Boracay rehabilitation program to the three (3)
dimensions of sustainable tourism (environmental, economic, and social).
Sustainable tourism means that a tourist spot should not only meet the needs of the tourists
but also it should be preserved for future generations and meet the needs of all the
stakeholders like industry, native people, tourists, government, and the environmentalists. In
the case of Boracay island, the three pillars of sustainable tourism will have the following effect
due to the closure of the Island for rehabilitation:

Economic: An economic pillar refers to the financial stability of all the economic participants by
ensuring decent work and earnings at the least cost to the environment. This means ensuring
maximum benefits to society as a whole. Due to the closure of the Island, as many as 36000
people will lose jobs in the informal and formal sectors. The business sales will go down as the

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 place will be closed for tourists. The unemployed people will have to shift from the Island to
other areas to find jobs. So, the closure has dislocated many people and caused damage to
their livelihoods. On the other hand, people who can stay on the Island will get jobs in
wastewater treatment work and the construction of the road work. Their livelihoods will improve
as they will get jobs when they had none before. So, the closure has improved their livelihood.
Hence, the overall economic effect of closure is negative in the short run as resorts will be
closed and the people have to migrate. But, in the long run, once the closure has ended, it will
open up better opportunities both, in terms of job and livelihood, for people thereby, enhancing
the economic pillar of sustainable tourism after the closure has ended.

Environmental: An environment pillar refers to the policies and actions taken to restore the
natural environment like managing water, sir and soil pollution, wastewater and solid waste
management, etc. Due to the closure of the environment, the island will be rehabilitated in all
respects. These include restoring the wetlands which will help in better rainwater treatment. For
this, the government has halted the construction of establishments in various places. Also, the
sewage system and the wastewater treatment system will be improved by building the sewage
system in the third barangay, thus, eliminating the problem of the cesspool. The island uses its
76 tonnes of garbage every day by converting Biodegradable wastes into fertilizers, selling the
recyclable ones to junk buying shops, and sending the rest to the dumping grounds on the
mainland. Treating the problem of wastewater is most important because it's both risky for
human health and the health of natural habitats and water bodies. Hence, the effect of the
closure on the environmental pillar of sustainable tourism will have positive effects as the
natural environment will be restored and then the tourism industry will begin its operation. This
closure is necessary to revamp the Island and make it more environmentally sustainable for
future use.

Social: Social pillar refers to the concept of ensuring equitable distribution of income and
benefits to all the participants and non-participants of economic activity. Here, under tourism,
this means that the native people and community enjoy the benefits of tourism without any cost
in the form of environmental problems. Under this pillar of sustainable tourism, the government
has done land reforms and some agricultural lands were allocated to farmers and tribal people.
The government has also promised to relocate the families which are affected due to the
wetland restoration process. Also, the road widening project and the construction of sewage
systems projects has provided work opportunities for people who were not earning enough thus
ensuring better livelihood. Also, after the closure has ended, the natives will have better job
opportunities and the environment will be safe enough for settlement purposes. Thus, this
ensures a better quality of life for them. Hence, the closure of Boracay Island for 6 months will
ensure better social sustainability for tourism in the future.

So, the effect of the closure on sustainable tourism is positive as all the three pillars will be
enhanced due to this proposal of the government to close Boracay Island for a few months for
rehabilitation.

III. How can this problem be avoided from happening again should you be in charge
of Boracay’s rehabilitation?
Boracay Island had the problem of lack of sewage and wastewater treatment systems, road
congestion, and the vanishing wetlands. To resolve this problem, the government took many
steps. Some further steps are mentioned below to avoid this problem to appear again in the
future:

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  It is important to set up a monitoring committee to check on the actions of the resorts in
managing their wastewater treatment facilities. Any resort failing to manage its
wastewater properly should be punished by either paying heavy compensation or a full
closure of their businesses.
 Excessive construction needs to be reduced to avoid the destruction of wetlands. For
this, there need to be caps on the number of settlers on the island. This will curb the
excessive requirements for establishments on the Island.
 The transportation system needs to be improved. For this, the government should
increase the footpaths for tourists and citizens to walk to their destination. This will
reduce the need for vehicles on the road and reduce congestion. Thus, putting a limit on
vehicles on road and increasing footpaths will work in the long term.
 It is important to make citizens and tourists aware of the problems their actions can
impose on the island. So, an awareness program should be initiated in order to remind
the people about the problems that arise due to insensitive waste disposal. There should
be punitive measures for their actions to prevent any stakeholder from irresponsible
behavior.
 All these measures will work to prevent Boracay Island to face the same issue anytime
in the future again in addition to the government measures. This will remove the problem
of improper waste management and insensitive behavior to waste disposal. Hence,
these measures will be implemented to prevent the problem from arising again in the
future.

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