Linking marine biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation: A case study in selected rural communities of Sagay Marine Reserve, Negros Occidental

Marine biodiversity has long been known to provide benefits to the community. However, whether biodiversity conservation has contributed to poverty alleviation remained unclear. This paper investigated the relationship between conservation and poverty alleviation in Sagay Marine Reserve. It specifically looked at the perceived poverty alleviation of poor coastal communities in Brgy. Bulanon. The linear relationship between the community's perception and the different factors affecting it were regressed using an ordered logit analysis. Findings revealed that whenever there were presence of conservation training and projects, and additional number of boats, the fishers and non-fishers alike perceived that they were alleviated from poverty. The comparison between the specific household income of fisherfolks and food and poverty thresholds by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the latter variable fell short of the provided thresholds. Despite conservation measures, the fishermen remained food-poor and under poverty. Improvement in their economic condition was also hindered by household size, large number of economically inactive dependents, and the absence of a fishing organization. This paper showed that the establishment of marine reserve was successful in terms of biodiversity conservation but lacked the complementary policies to leverage the adjacent communities, thereby not being able to fully ground poverty alleviation along with conservation.