RRA in coastal resource planning: Malampaya Sound, the Philippines

Although Malampaya Sound is Palawan's richest fishing ground its resource base is threatened. Logging and upland agriculture inflict serious environmental damage on downstream fisheries, and resource use conflicts between large scale and artisanal fishermen are escalating. In 1990 RRA was used to generate information about problems and opportunities, establish monitoring indicators to determine the impacts of future development, and pinpoint subjects for further research. The paper outlines the procedure followed during a one-week survey of seven villages in the area. From the discussions a network analysis summarizing the problems of the entire sound was formulated, and a matrix was compiled listing the main problems, informant's perceived solutions and proposed projects to implement solutions.