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Helping Communities Defend the Earth
The Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC), Inc. is an environmental non-government organization committed to helping communities uphold their constitutional right to a healthful and balanced ecology.
Mt. Bulanjao in Southern Palawan is a vital biodiversity hotspot, hosting numerous threatened and endemic species, making it a critical conservation priority. The mountain provides essential ecosystem services like water regulation, soil stability, and carbon sequestration, which are indispensable for both ecological health and local livelihoods. However, mining poses severe risks including environmental degradation, water pollution, and the potential displacement of local communities.
Coal-fired power plants pose significant environmental and health risks, including air and water pollution, climate change, and respiratory illnesses. Countries like Germany, the UK, and Canada are phasing out coal in favor of cleaner renewable energy sources, emphasizing the urgent need for Palawan to follow suit to protect its unique ecosystems and public health.
Monocrop plantations, drastically reduces biodiversity and disrupts ecosystem services. It leads to habitat loss, fragmentation, and increased vulnerability to pests and diseases, while also affecting local communities' livelihoods and cultural practices.
Alliances and Projects
ELAC believes in the transformative power of a united community of advocates to tackle and resolve complex environmental issues. By harnessing collective strength, knowledge, and passion, we can drive meaningful change and protect our natural resources for future generations.
Save Palawan Movement
The Save Palawan Movement (SPM) is a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), and people's organizations (POs) dedicated to addressing critical environmental issues in Palawan. SPM actively advocates for the protection of Palawan’s unique and vital ecosystems through three major campaigns: the No to Mining campaign, the One Palawan campaign, and the Save Palawan’s Forests campaign. These initiatives aim to combat environmentally destructive practices, promote sustainable development, and preserve the rich biodiversity of Palawan for future generations..
Green Livelihoods Alliance
ELAC is part of the Green Livelihoods Alliance (GLA). GLA aims to ensure that tropical forests and forest landscapes are sustainably and inclusively governed to mitigate and adapt to climate change, fulfil human rights and safeguard local livelihoods. It tries to increase the participation of indigenous peoples in policy and decision-making regarding land rights and forest governance and strengthen lobby and advocacy to hold governments and industries accountable for deforestation and human rights violations.
Palawan Women Environmental Defenders Program
The Palawan Women Environmental Defenders (WEDs) Program, seeks to empower women environmental defenders by enhancing their ability to safely and effectively engage in decision-making processes. This program emphasizes the importance of gender-sensitive policy and project development, particularly in the realm of natural resources governance. By providing training, resources, and support, the WEDs program aims to ensure that women's voices are heard and valued in environmental advocacy and governance, thereby fostering inclusive and sustainable management of natural resources.
The Issues We Face
Despite its breathtaking beauty and abundant natural resources, Palawan is grappling with significant and destructive threats.
1. Mining
Mining remains one of the most urgent environmental issues facing Palawan today. Currently, there are 11 active mining operations in the province, directly affecting numerous communities whose livelihoods have been halted—or, in many cases, severely stunted. To date, mining activities have already led to the cutting of more than 28,000 trees, threatening not just biodiversity but also the food, water, and cultural security of indigenous and rural populations. As Palawan stands as the country's last ecological frontier, the call to protect it has never been more critical.
2. Environmental Governance
Environmental governance in Palawan is in crisis—not because of a lack of laws, but due to weak implementation and misplaced priorities. The Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), mandated to ensure sustainable development, has consistently failed to regulate large-scale threats such as mining and deforestation. Yet, it has disproportionately blamed small-scale farmers practicing kaingin (traditional upland farming), often criminalizing them without addressing the systemic drivers of poverty and land insecurity. This selective enforcement highlights a deeper governance failure—one that punishes the poor while allowing powerful interests to continue degrading Palawan’s ecosystems. For true sustainability, Palawan needs people-centered, science-based, and equitable environmental governance.
3. Coal-Fired Power Plant
The Threat of a Coal-Fired Power Plant in Palawan
A proposed coal-fired power plant in Narra threatens Palawan’s rich ecosystems, community health, and sustainable future. Despite Palawan’s status as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, dirty energy projects continue to endanger its people and environment.
ELAC opposes coal and stands with communities calling for clean, renewable, and just energy solutions. Let’s protect Palawan—our last ecological frontier—from the destructive impacts of coal.
©2025, Environmental Legal Assistance Center
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Location: ELAC Carlos P. Sayang Compound, Mitra Road, Sta. Monica, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines
Phone: (048) 726 3155
Email: elacpalawan@gmail.com