Status, Governance and Development of Gunao Lake: The Little-Known Lake of Dolores, Quezon, Philippines

Status, Governance and Development of Gunao Lake: 

The Little-Known Lake of Dolores, Quezon, 

Philippines

This is an Author's Original Manuscript of an article published in the Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution.

Cite as: Brillo, B.B. (2020). The Status, Governance and Development of Gunao Lake: The Little-Known Lake of Dolores, Quezon, Philippines. Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 27-33 (ISI/SCOPUS).

Bing Baltazar C. Brillo, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Institute for Governance and Rural Development

College of Public Affairs and Development

University of the Philippines Los Ban͂os

Email address: bbbrillo@yahoo.com; bcbrillo@up.edu.ph

Abstract

Anchored on the scarcity of small lake studies in the country, the article explores the little-known small lake of Dolores, Quezon, Philippines— Gunao Lake; its existence virtually unheard of in scholarly literature. Specifically, the study documents the crater lake by delineating the status of the lake using seven basic governance and development parameters. Using data from interviews, site observations, and few existing documents on the lake, the study contends that Gunao Lake is deficient in key management and conservation enablers: the absence of a management council and a Master Development Plan, and the failure to institutionalise tourism, funding mechanisms and maintenance activities. These failings are attributable to the local government’s limited funds and the failure to tie-up the small lake’s development within its centrepiece tourism project in Mount Banahaw area. In placing Gunao Lake on the literature map, overall, this study makes a small step in expanding the governance and development studies on small lakes in the country.

Keywords

Development, Governance, Gunao Lake, Dolores, Lake, Philippines

1. INTRODUCTION

Gunao Lake is a small lake located in Dolores, Quezon. It is only about 15-20 kilometres by road away from the seven crater lakes of San Pablo City, as all of them are situated at the foot of Mounts Banahaw-Cristobal Protected Landscape (see Figure 1). Yet, unlike the seven crater lakes which are widely known, Gunao Lake is relatively unknown; its existence is virtually unheard of in scholarly literature and in the country (e.g., the small lake’s name is not even registered in Google maps). This obviously suggests the lack of information and formal study on the small lake. One good illustration of the Gunao Lake’s “unknownness” is the anecdote about a “banca” (small boat) donation by the Governor of the Province of Quezon to the Municipality of Dolores. The donation raised political eyebrows since critics questioned why would the Provincial Government donate a banca in an upland Municipality like Dolores (which is well known as the gateway town of the majestic Mount Banahaw). Evidently, the story illustrates the widespread ignorance of Gunao Lake’s existence in Dolores. 

Beyond Gunao Lake, small lakes in the country suffer from a scarcity of studies since the overwhelming majority of scholarly works on lakes are heavily concentrated on the major lakes (Brillo 2015a, see also Guerrero III 2001, Guerrero III 2005). Specifically, about 80 percent of the scholarly works are studies on major lakes (e.g., Laguna de Bay, Taal Lake, Lanao Lake and Buhi Lake) and only 8.7 percent of small lakes (Brillo 2015a). This figure shows a severe imbalance in literature, mainly since around 80 percent of existing lakes in the country are small lakes. The concentration of studies on major lakes fosters bias and depicts an incomplete image of the lake resource, and thus, small lakes must be studied to broaden the knowledge base on Philippine lakes. Moreover, the majority of the few existing studies on small lakes are classified under limnology and aquaculture studies which suggest that lack of governance and development studies on them (Brillo 2015b, Brillo 2015c, Brillo 2016a, Brillo 2016b). This literature trajectory reveals disparity where small lakes and their governance-development aspects have received little attention. Thus, to enhance the literature and development deficit, it is vitally important that more research is conducted on the governance and development studies of small lakes in the country. Governance and development studies would accompaniment the limnology and aquaculture studies in sustainably managing small lakes and supplement in improving the conditions of the local communities situated around the small lakes as well as a catalyst for local development. Thus, this fact makes it imperative to generate more scholarly works on small lakes in the country.    

Under the preceding premise, this article conducts an exploratory assessment of Gunao Lake. The objective of the study is to literally place the little-known small lake on the map of scholarly literature, specifically, in lake governance/development studies, and generally, in water resources studies. In particular, it delineates the status of governance and development of Gunao Lake and explains the absence of development. As a proviso, the concept of governance and development are loosely defined in the study. Simply, governance refers to the administrative arrangement and practice for the utilisation, management, development and conservation of the lake, and development refers to actions intended to bring economic and/or social improvement in the lake and its vicinity. Furthermore, a small lake in the study is defined as an inland body of water that is permanent in nature (not intermittent) with a surface area of at least one hectare but not more than 200 hectares (see Brillo 2015a).

2. CRITERIA FOR ANALYSIS

The study employs a case study design in examining the status of the governance and development of Gunao Lake. It generates data from interviews, site observations, and few existing documents on the lake. The data are analysed using content analysis approach where they are coded and classified into the following criteria: (1) having a locally organised association or council to administer the water resource; (2) having a management and development plan (MDP) for the lake; (3) regulating fish pens and cages (i.e., enforcing the 10-percent-area-limit rule for aquastructures pursuant to the Fisheries Code of the Philippines or Republic Act (RA) 8550); (4) promoting tourism (i.e., encouraging tourism development pursuant to the Tourism Act of 2009 or RA 9593); (5) implementing the shoreline easement (i.e., enforcing the 20-meter easement rule pursuant to the Water Code of the Philippines or Presidential Decree (PD) 1067) and ensuring the public access; (6) having adequate and secure finance; and (7) conducting maintenance activities, specifically water quality analysis, clean up operations, and fingerlings seeding/dispersal. These criteria are deemed fundamental in the governance, development and conservation of small lakes in the Philippines (see Brillo 2015b, Brillo 2015c, Brillo 2016a, Brillo 2016b, Brillo 2016c, Brillo et al., 2017a, Brillo et al., 2017b). The findings are delineated in a narrative presentation which proceeds as follow: first, the status and administration of Gunao Lake; second, the governance, development and conservation performance in the lake; and lastly, the conclusion.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 The Status and Administration of Gunao Lake

Gunao Lake is a freshwater crater lake located in Barangay Dagatan and Barangay Bungoy in the Municipality of Dolores, Quezon. The small lake is oval-shaped with a surface area of 22.36 hectares (CENRO 2014) and has steep surrounding slopes with an elevation of 117 meters (Wikipedia 2017). About two-thirds of the lake is situated in Barangay Dagatan and the remaining one-third (southern part of the lake) is within Barangay Bungoy. Previously, Gunao Lake has a twin lake— Manlalayes Lake— situated just 100 meters away which dried out in the 2000s. Gunao Lake has two main entry points, via Barangay Putol Road in its northern tip and via a privately-owned road on its western side, while Tiaong-Dolores Road runs laterally meters away from the southeast side of the lake. Like the seven crater lakes of San Pablo City, Gunao Lake is a maar believed to be volcanic in origin which was formed through a phreatic eruption when contact between shallow lava and groundwater caused an explosion that resulted in a crater-like depression (LLDA 2008). The small lake has no water inlets and outlets or contributing natural springs. It replenishes by rainfall and surface runoff, and discharges by seepage and evaporation. Gunao Lake usually shrinks by a meter or two during the summer and swells back during the rainy season. 

Prior to the introduction of aquaculture, Gunao Lake has been utilised mainly for subsistence fishing and picnics by the locals. Aquaculture, specifically Tilapia farming in cages, was introduced in the small lake in the1980s. Since then, Tilapia farming increased, peaking when an “outsider” investor— a Cooperative based in Sta Cruz, Laguna— invested in cage farming in the lake. By the 1990s, the Gunao Lake became overcrowded by fish cages, threatening the viability of Tilapia farming as well as the water quality of the lake. But after a major fishkill in the mid-1990s (brought about by the natural upwelling or overturning of the lake), many fish farmers suffered heavy losses and discontinued operations, and the Barangay officials (through the urging of the locals to reduce the number of fish cages) petitioned the Cooperative to leave the lake. Eventually, these actions resulted in the decline of fish cages in Gunao Lake and a customary agreement that only local residents of Dolores will be allowed to operate fish farms in the lake. In the early 2000s only around 150 fish cages remained in the lake, well within the 10-percent-area-limit rule for aquastructures set by the Philippine Fisheries Code. With the most recent fishkill occurring in 2014, there are only a little over 100 fish cages in the lake at present.

Gunao Lake is under the administration of the Municipal Government of Dolores. The authority of the local government emanates from RA 7160 or the Local Government Code of the Philippines, which gives it jurisdiction over the lake being part of its geographical territory. In particular, the offices of the Municipal Agriculturist, the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources (MENRO), the Municipal Planning Development Coordinator (MPDC), the Municipal Tourism are collectively charged for the management, development and conservation of the small lake. In principle, these offices propose and execute the plans and programs, as well as serve as lead agencies in the regulation the water resource. In addition, the Municipal Government has been assisted by the Provincial Government of Quezon through Office of the Provincial Agriculturist and Fisheries Division, (PAFD), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (Region IV) through Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) (in Pagbilao, Quezon) in the management and conservation of Gunao Lake. PAFD had provided fishery-related support (particularly, replenishing the lake and supplying the fish farm operators with fingerlings), and the CENRO had provided a preliminary assessment on the small lake (see CENRO 2014). On the ground, the Municipal Government oversees the small lake via the local Barangay Officials and the Municipal Agriculture and Fisheries Council (MAFC). A Barangay is under the local governments and is the smallest and lowest-level administrative-legislative unit in the country following Local Government Code. MAFC is an advisory body attached to the Municipal Government and tasked with supervising and monitoring agricultural development projects. Although MAFC covers all of the Municipality of Dolores, the council has members from the fish cage operators and fisherfolk which serves as the de facto representatives of Gunao Lake in the absence of an organised Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (FARMC) in the lake (following the mandate of RA 8550 or the Fisheries Code of the Philippines).

3.2 The Governance-Development-Conservation Performance in Gunao Lake

The first criterion refers to whether a lake-based association or council has been created for the administration of the water resource. The importance of organising a local management council for the lake has been underscored in the Philippine Fisheries Code, the main law in the conservation, protection and sustained management of fishery and aquatic resources in the country. In particular, the law designates the Municipal FARMC as the principal partner of the local governments in managing, conserving, developing, protecting, utilising and disposing of all fish and fishery/aquatic resources within their respective municipal waters (see RA 8550, Section 16). The law stipulates that a FARMC be organised by the local government in each of its municipal water and be composed of the following: MunicipalPlanning Development Officer; Chairperson, Agriculture/Fishery Committee of the Municipal Legislature; representative of the MunicipalDevelopment Council; representative from the accredited non-government organisation (NGO); representative from the private sector; representative from the Department of Agriculture; and at least seven fisherfolk representatives (e.g., fish farm workers, fish farm operators, as well as representatives from youth and women sector). Specifically, the Municipal FARMC is envisioned to perform the following functions: (1) assist in the preparation of the Municipal Fishery Development Plan; (2) recommend the enactment of municipal fishery ordinances; (3) assist in the enforcement of fishery laws, rules and regulations in municipal waters; (4) advise the local government on fishery matters; and (5) perform other fishery related functions/activities (see RA 8550, Section 73, 74 and 75). Moreover, the significance of organising such a local management council has long been stressed by the two leading approaches to the management of water resources and lakes— the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and the Integrated Lake Basin Management (ILBM), respectively. IWRM approach is a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of the water, land and related resources (GWP 2010), and the ILBM approach is a governance improvement process which focuses on the lake and its natural basin system (Nakamura and Rast 2011). Both approaches are committed to the principle of sustainable development which aims to maximise economic and social benefits without compromising the water resources/lakes and their ecosystem. Broadly, the IWRM and the ILBM envision a management council as an organised group of the community stakeholders which tackles management-development issues, advise the administrative authority, and watch over the lake (ILEC 2005, GWP 2009). 

Despite the established essentiality of having a lake-based association or council for managing the water resource, Gunao Lake has no existing locally organised body at present. This shortcoming was echoed in the CENRO’s preliminary assessment of the lake in 2014 (following its Protected Areas, Wildlife and Coastal Zone Management Service [PAWCZMS] targets for Inland Wetland Conservation). CENRO specifically recommended for the creation of a management council that can monitor the activities on Gunao Lake as well as formulates policies and implements programs relating to the conservation, protection and management of the lake (CENRO 2014). The lack of a lake-based management council or Municipal FARMC in Gunao Lake is traceable to the non-prioritisation of the lake in the development agenda of the local government. So far, the attention of the Municipal Government is merely confined to the Mount Banahaw area, its main tourist attraction, and has not spilled over to the small lake. In the absence of a management council or Municipal FARMC, the overseeing of Gunao Lake is handled by MAFC though its 16 fisherfolk members which are composed of fish cages operators and workers from Barangay Dagatan and Barangay Bungoy. By themselves, the fisherfolk members are organised informally and led by a de facto President, who has been their leader since the late-1980s. The absence of a management council or Municipal FARMC, consequently, translates to the weak promotion of interests in the lake, as it denies the existence of a key actor, linkage and forum. Conversely, its establishment would institutionalise the participation of community stakeholders, as it would provide the connecting mechanism and platform for involvement in managing and developing Gunao Lake. 

The second criterion refers to whether a master plan has been formulated for the management and development of the lake. An MDP is a basic plan for the governance of a lake, as it provides the overarching framework for the management, development and conservation of the water resource. In particular, the plan furnishes direction and precipitates programs, projects and initiatives in the lake, as well as ensures their coherence and consistency. An MDP also provides a blueprint for addressing the utilisation issues of the lake, which usually is the “rivalry” between aquaculture and tourism. The plan can sort out the delicate issue of partitioning the lake— designating the specific areas (including the extent and arrangement) for aquaculture and tourism which would facilitate the regulation of fish farms and the development of tourism.

Although there is no qualm among the stakeholders on the necessity of a master plan, Gunao Lake still has no MDP. In CENRO’s preliminary assessment, the agency has identified the need to have a master plan for the effective governance and conservation of the small lake (CENRO 2014). So far, the Municipal Government has not taken concrete steps to initiate the formulation of a master plan for the lake. Similar to the absence of a lake-based management council, the lack of an MDP for Gunao Lake is also connected with its non-prioritisation in the development agenda of the local government, being mainly devoted to Mount Banahaw tourism area. To date, tight finance is the usual reason cited for the Municipal Government’s lack of action. However, initiating and crafting an MDP is relatively less costly (than the many grandiose projects usually proposed in developing a lake) but its impact is significant to the overall management and conservation of the lake. The formulation of an MDP is more a labor-intensive (rather capital-intensive) activity requiring primarily consultations, meetings, and technical expertise (Brillo 2017, Brillo et al., 2017a, Brillo et al., 2017b). Thus, this makes a compelling argument for a local government, in spite of limited funds, to take action in formulating a basic plan. Without an MDP, the management of Gunao Lake has been done arbitrarily and without clear direction over the years. Because of this, the formulation of the MDP, together with the creation of a management council or Municipal FARMC, can be deemed as the most pressing issue in Gunao Lake. 

The third criterion refers to whether the 10-percent-area-limit rule for aquastructures(i.e., fish pens and cages) is being complied with in the lake. Fish farming in pens and cages is the probably the most common utilisation of small lakes in the country. Consequently, their over expansion is the major cause for many extant problems of the inland water resources— from the proliferation of illegal settlements and structures to deterioration of water quality and eutrophication. Under this context, regulating the expansion of fish pens and cages is crucial in the conservation and sustainability of the small lake. In the country, the principal regulatory measure for fish pens and cages is 10-percent-limit rule for aquastructures imposed by the Philippine Fisheries Code which mandates that only 10 percent of the surface area of a lake can be allotted to fish pens and cages.

At present, only 13 fish farmers operator in Gunao Lake which can be divided into two groups: on the northern part of the lake are mostly fish farmers from Barangay Dagatan while on the southern tip is mostly from neighbouring Barangay Bungoy (see Figure 2). All in all, the total number of fish cages in Gunao Lake is 53 which is only around 5 percent of the surface area of the lake, and well within the 10 percent limit. This remarkable achievement was more a repercussion of converging circumstances, rather than the Municipal Government’s deliberate regulatory action in Gunao Lake; such as (a) the occurrence of fishkills in the lake which have resulted in losses among fish farmers; (b) the slow fish growth and inferior fish yield (compared to Tilapia produced in Taal Lake or in the nearby seven crater lakes) which made fish farming less attractive relative to agriculture and crop production; and (c) the lobby of the locals to prevent “outsiders” to operate fish farms in the lake (as the unwritten rule is that only residents of Dolores should be permitted to operate fish farms). 

The fourth criterion refers to whether tourism is being promoted/developed in the lake. Currently, tourism is fast becoming a common utilisation among small lakes in the country. This trend, on one hand, is propelled by the alluring natural beauty of many small lakes, and on the other hand, is guided by the Tourism Act of 2009 which endorses tourism as a major engine of the national economy, particularly in promoting socio-economic development. The law encourages developing tourism among the many historical, cultural and natural sites in the country. In small lakes, the law led to their potential assessment and designation as tourist destinations. Tourism, specifically ecotourism, is seen as a means to augment the livelihood opportunities of the locals, enhance the economic stature of the municipality, and a way to preserve the water resource (LLDA 2014, LLDA 2015). Moreover, tourism has also been promoted as alternative and/or complementary to fish farming in small lakes; particularly, in the light of the many problems associated with the over expansion fish farming as well as the limited potential for expansion due to the restriction imposed by the 10-percent-area-limit rule for aquastructures.

Despite the potential, tourism has not been established in Gunao Lake. The Municipal Government and its Tourism Office have not taken actions to organise and develop the small lake into a tourist destination— no tourism-related ordinance was passed, no information about the lake is being disseminated (even in the local government’s office website), and no direction signage or marker to inform the public of the lake’s existence. The local government’s efforts on tourism are currently confined to Barangay Kinabuhayan and Barangay Santa Lucia in Mount Banahaw area, its traditional tourist attractions. So far, the Municipal Government has not taken an effort to link-up Gunao Lake into its ongoing tourism development in Mount Banahaw area. A reason for this is that the local officials have viewed Gunao Lake as separate and have not envisioned that it can complement and enhance the existing tourism in Mount Banahaw.

In the past, exploratory talks were conducted on developing tourism in Gunao Lake and Manlalayes Lake (its dried-out twin lake). In particular, a proposal was made to dredge and revive Manlalayes Lake and to construct a circumferential road. However, the discussions did not go beyond the drawing board, as it fizzled out mainly due to lack of funds. On one hand, the Municipal Government prefers to spend its limited budget on tourism in improving its facilities and services in Mount Banahaw, and on the other hand, the cost of undertaking the dredging of the dead lake and preventing the likelihood of recurrence of siltation (i.e., the cause of its disappearance) was deemed impractical. At the moment, the cementing of the Barangay road from Barangay Putol of San Pablo City to Barangay Putol and Dagatan of Dolores which runs across the twin lakes (northern side of Gunao Lake and western side of Manlalayes Lake) is the only significant tourism-related development in Gunao Lake.

The fifth criterion refers to whether the 20-meter shoreline easement and the public access are being observed in the lake. The easement rule is constituted in Article 51 of the Water Code of the Philippines which states that the banks of lakes throughout their entire length and within a zone of twenty (20) meters in agricultural areas (three [3] meters in urban areas and forty [40] meters in forest areas)along their margins are subject to the easement of public use (i.e., for recreation, navigation, floatage, fishing, and salvage) wherein no structures can be built. The shoreline regulation guarantees the public access and the preservation of the water resource; the former refers to the right of the people to visit and enjoy the lake, and the latter refers to the protection of the lake’s watershed and surrounding natural springs as well as the regulation of structures and establishments along its banks.

Gunao Lake has no problem on public access. There are two main entry points in the small lake— along the Barangay Putol Road on the northern side and a private road via the quarry site on the western side. Both entries are open to visitors, fisherfolk and fish farmers to pass when traveling in and out of the lake. Gunao Lake also has no issue on shoreline easement. Except for the unfinished structure being built by fish cage operators which MENRO ordered to discontinue its construction, the banks of the small lake are relatively free of illegal structures and establishments. The observance of the easement regulation in Gunao Lake was facilitated by the following: (1) the perimeter of the small lake is steep slopes which are unfavourable for building structures and vulnerable to landslides; (2) the surroundings of the lake are privately owned lands which the owners keep under guard against squatting; and (3) the municipality of Dolores has nominal problem regarding informal settlers, as it has large land area, small population, and low poverty incidence.

The sixth criterion refers to having adequate and secure finance. The availability, sufficiency and sustainability of funds are critical in lake management and development. Yet, finance is a constant problem in executing programs and implementing projects in many small lakes, as stakeholders have often complained of the inadequacy of governmental allocation and difficulty of generating the necessary capital (see Brill 2015b, Brillo 2015c, Brillo 2016a, Brillo 2016b). On the whole, the finance issue points to the importance of institutional support in establishing a sustainable funding mechanism.

As pointed out in the discussion of the other criteria, the funding is a major problem in Gunao Lake, as the small lake lacks the budget for its management and development. The Municipal Government has not provided funds nor take the lead role to identify sources and facilitate its generation. Even financial assistance from the private sector or nongovernmental organisations is absent in the lake. External support is difficult to come in since the small lake is unknown and lacks the basics— no management council and no basic plan. Consequently, this issue has denied significant development from occurring in Gunao Lake. At present, the Municipal Government provides financial allocation only to the Barangay unit and MFAC, both of which assist in overseeing the small lake. 

The seventh criterion refers to whether the maintenance activities— water quality analysis, clean up operations, and fingerlings dispersal/seeding— are being carried out in the lake. The maintenance activities are routine undertakings crucial in the conservation of lakes in the country. The water quality analysis refers to a periodic evaluation of the lake’s water to determine the changes and effects in relation to its utilisations and development activities, and to serve as a guide in its management and conservation. In practice, the water quality is usually assessed based on the water classification under the DENR Administrative Order 34 Series of 1990 (DENR 1990), and ideally conducted at least once to four times in a year. In Gunao Lake, the regular assessment of water quality is not being practiced, as even the Municipal Government has no record of its water evaluation. Although in the past, a water quality analysis was conducted when a fishkill occurred in the lake.

The clean up operations refers to regular activities conducted to remove debris and other polluting materials in the lake and surroundings that might contaminate the water resource and its ecosystem as well as diminish its natural beauty. The rule of thumb is that the more often the clean up activities are carried out the better for the lake. In Gunao Lake, the clean up operations are being done by the local fish cage operators since there is no management council or Municipal FARMC. It is also exercised on “bayanihan” (volunteer labour) basis since the program has not been institutionalised by the local government. Since the lake has no inflowing or outflowing creeks/streams and has no problem regarding informal settlers, the cleaning operations usually entail removal of leftover materials and bamboo structures from abandoned fish cages. 

The fingerling dispersal/seeding refers to the periodic release of fish fries in the lake to improve its productivity and benefit the fisherfolk. Usually, this activity is being launch annually on lakes by the administrative agency in partnership with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) (e.g., see LLDA 2012, LLDA 2013). In Gunao Lake, fingerling dispersal/seeding has been conducted occasionally by the PAFD upon the request of MAFC or the Office of the Municipal Agriculturalist. The usual practice is to disperse fingerlings in the lake and supply fish fries to the fish farmers.

Table 1: The Governance-Development-Conservation Performance in Gunao Lake
Criteria	Gunao Lake
1. Having a locally organised association or council	not done
2. Having a management and development plan (MDP)	not done
3. Regulating fish pens and cages	complied with
4. Promoting tourism	not done
5. Implementing the shoreline easement	complied with
6. Having adequate and secure finance	not done
7. Conducting maintenance activities
a. Water quality assessment	not done
b. Clean up operations	complied with but not institutionalised
c. Fingerlings seeding/dispersal	complied with but occasionally

4. CONCLUSION 

The assessment delineated the governance and development status of Gunao Lake as well as identified the areas of deficiency and their salient factors. The criteria utilised are the essential enablers of governance, development and conservation of a small lake, and improving on them are crucial if meaningful change is to be gained in Gunao Lake. The findings showed the areas for improvement: organising a management council, formulating an MDP, promoting tourism, establishing finance mechanisms, and institutionalising maintenance activities. Tying all together, it elucidates the failure of the Municipal Government to take serious action in Gunao Lake. This nonfeasance points to the little interest of the local government on the small lake due mainly to limited funds and failure to integrate its development within the Municipality’s centrepiece tourism project in Mount Banahaw area. As mentioned, the tourism funds and efforts of the Municipal Government are primarily dedicated to the improvement of the Mount Banahaw area. As a consequence, Gunao Lake has been perennially placed outside the priority of the administrative agency, and thus, failing to realise the development potentials the inland water resource. Conversely, this underscores the local government’s commitment as critical to gain grounds in the management, conservation and development of Gunao Lake.

In closing, the article literally placed Gunao Lake on the map of scholarly literature by providing baseline-steering information about the inland water resource; particularly, by illustrating the governance-development circumstances and experiences of a little known small lake in the country. This undertaking is timely and consequential— considering the threatened condition of lakes in the country (see Aralar et al. 2005, Fernandez 2011, Aralar et al. 2013, GNF 2014) and the now acknowledged abundance (see Lehner and Doll 2004, Downing et al. 2006, Oertli et al. 2009, Brillo 2015a) and ecological significance of small lakes (see Kelly et al. 2001, Smith et al., 2002, Scheffer et al. 2006, Hanson et al. 2007, Downing 2010). Under this context, the study hopes to instigate more studies on Gunao Lake, in particular, and small lakes, in general, as they are numerous in the country (and in the world).

Acknowledgement

Many thanks to the following agencies and organisations: Municipal Agriculture and Fisheries Council, Office of the Municipal Agriculturist, Office of the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources, Office of the Municipal Planning Development Coordinator, Office of the Municipal Tourism, Office of the Provincial Agriculturist and Fisheries Division, and Community Environment and Natural Resources Office.

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