Waste Management System and Its Effects on the Water Quality of an Ecotourism Destination in Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

Caramoan is a municipality located in the far eastern end of Camarines Sur in the region of Bicol, Philippines. The islands of Caramoan has been the site for several editions of the international reality TV show Survivor since 2008. After being featured in the show, its popularity spread like wildfire and the volume of tourist visitors escalated. The tourism industry boosted the municipality’s economy and brought income generating opportunities to its communities. Changes in the physical, environmental and social dynamics became noticeable over the years. Resorts were intensively built in shorelines, farmers shifted to tourism-related businesses and services and problems on waste management emerged. The worsening problem on wastes became the most challenging in one community of the municipality. This study was conducted to assess the waste management of the community and how it affects the coastal water quality. Results showed that the community and tourists gave high importance on proper waste management but the local government unit showed weak policy implementation. As an additional validation, coastal water quality tests on DO, BOD, pH, TC and TFC were done for two distinct seasons. Results showed that the water is still within the standards of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)-DENR, Philippines.