Socio-economic and environmental impacts of COVID-19 pandemic: Building resilience of the seven lakes of San Pablo city, Philippines

To combat COVID-19, the Philippine government has taken various measures including the passing of the Bayanihan 1 Act to fight COVID-19, formation of interagency task force on COVID-19, quarantine measures, economic lockdown, establishment of COVID-19 testing, quarantine and treatment facilities, and the passing of the Bayanihan Act 2 for the 3-phase economic recovery plan. This study strives to investigate the effect of lockdown on seven lakes of San Pablo City, Philippines. Results shows that, lockdown measures have both positive and negative impacts in the seven lakes. Aquaculture and ecotourism activities were greatly reduced providing opportunity for the lake ecosystem to rebound. Locals observed that the lakes had better water quality and increased fish populations. However, these reduced anthropogenic activities negatively affected the livelihood and social well-being of the local communities. The City Tourism office provided training on alternative livelihood strategies under the ‘new normal.’ Lessons from COVID-19 include good governance towards building resilience of local communities and ecosystems.