Travel and Tourism Management students from Lyceum of the Philippines University – Cavite proposed an eco-tourism development plan for the Pugad Baboy mangrove forest in Kawit that highlights sustainable infrastructure, tourism innovation and community-based management.

The project, titled “Mangrove Magics: Smart, Sustainable and Community-led" is the entry of the LPU-Cavite for the 2025 Tourism Start-Up Challenge organized by the Department of Tourism in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). 

The mangrove eco-tourism proposal was declared as regional winner for the CALABARZON region (4A) in which the team received a grant of P250,000 during the awarding ceremony at Seda Vertis North, Quezon City on Tuesday, 12 May.

In an interview with the Daily Tribune, one of the project’s proponents, Hans Ismael, said the main objective of the proposal is to provide sustainable physical infrastructure within the mangrove forest.

“There were trails, boat rides to happen, and viewing decks,” the tourism student added in his statement.

According to the third-year college student, an existing community of informal settlers currently resides near the mangrove area. 

“That community is the one directly cleaning the mangroves and the river beside them, as well as planting new mangroves,” Hans said in Filipino.  

Nestled in Barangay Poblacion, Kawit, Cavite, the proposed project site is located within the Pugad Baboy mangrove forest.

Meanwhile, the project’s coach and current dean of the LPU-Cavite College of International Tourism and Hospitality Management, Dr. Ivan Bartolata, highlighted the site’s potential for eco-tourism development with the support of local government units in Kawit, from the barangay and municipal levels up to the provincial government. 

Bartolata explained that visitors currently need to take a boat ride to reach the main mangrove area. Once there, tourists would pass through a proposed elevated bamboo walkway leading deeper into the forest.

“We are also targeting a certain area of the mangroves where many migratory birds can be viewed,” the project coach said, adding that several parts of the mangrove area are also home to different fish species that visitors may observe. 

The proposed passageway will span a 200-meter stretch and will primarily use bamboo as a sustainable construction material.

“That would be made of bamboo. Of course, we have to be sustainable,” Dr. Bartolata said.

According to the proponents, the walkway will serve as the “gateway to a mangrove paradise.”

“That particular 200-meter stretch is what we consider the gateway to a mangrove paradise. We are not yet inside the paradise itself; we are just at the main gate,” the project mentor said.

The proposal, however, received positive feedback from representatives of the DOT and CHED during the regional competition, with several government representatives expressing interest in the possible implementation of the proposal.

The team received a ₱250,000 grant during the recent awarding ceremony which funding, based on the CHED guidelines, will be allocated for research, development of smart management applications, booth expenses, and other logistical requirements related to the project.

Despite gaining recognition, the LPU-Cavite team remains open to presenting the proposal in other venues and platforms to showcase tourism innovative and environmentally friendly ideas, which aim to help communities earn income and help preserve the mangrove ecosystem.