Orange Magazine
  • Home
  • Advocacies
  • Arts & Culture
  • Entertainment
    • Books
    • Events
    • Gaming
    • Concerts
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Magazines
    • Theaters
    • TV
    • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Beauty & Wellness
    • Fashion & Brands
    • Food & Beverage
    • Home & Living
  • Featured
    • Exclusives
    • Interviews
    • Covers
    • Press Releases
    • Promos
  • About
  • Contact Us
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Orange MagazineOrange Magazine
  • Home
  • Advocacies
  • Arts & Culture
  • Entertainment
    • Books
    • Events
    • Gaming
    • Concerts
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Magazines
    • Theaters
    • TV
    • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Beauty & Wellness
    • Fashion & Brands
    • Food & Beverage
    • Home & Living
  • Featured
    • Exclusives
    • Interviews
    • Covers
    • Press Releases
    • Promos
  • About
  • Contact Us
Orange Magazine


Home»Advocacies»Reef Monitoring System Vital For Reef Conservation And Management
Advocacies

Reef Monitoring System Vital For Reef Conservation And Management

Team OrangeBy Team OrangeJune 29, 2019No Comments4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

Sulu Sea, the richest reef region in the world, is home to 505 coral species and yet we know little about its reefs. With tourism booming exponentially in the Palawan islands, fishermen immigrating from nearby regions, and the seas warming, how are our corals coping? Which anthropogenic threats affect our reefs the most? Will corals in the Sulu Sea survive the warming waters? These questions seem basic yet no coral reef monitoring system is in place to help answer them.

Group photo from the joint cruise of DLSU SHORE, WWF-Philippines, and LAMAVE researchers in Cagayancillo, Palawan last May 3-10, 2019

Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan with his team of research assistants from the De La Salle University Br. Alfred Shields FSC Ocean Research Center (DLSU-SHORE) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines recently embarked on consecutive reef research trips to Tubbataha, Cagayancillo islands, Honda Bay, and Taytay, Palawan. This collaboration between DLSU-SHORE and WWF-Philippines, under a grant from WWF-Singapore, is called Designing of Monitoring and Evaluation System for Coral Reef Resilience and Fisheries Sustainability in Northeast Palawan through Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) or Network of MPAs.

Reefs in Cagayancillo exhibiting hard coral cover index of atolls and diversity of inshore fringing reefs

The project kicked off with a week-long navigation in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park where 10 previously established coral monitoring stations were surveyed, including the ship grounding sites of Ming Ping Yu and USS Guardian.

DLSU SHORE and WWF-Philippines scientists taking images of coral recruits to measure growth and recovery rates at the USS Guardian grounding site

In 2013, the grounding sites of the two vessels left fields of rubble, an environment where little to no coral could recruit. Upon consistent monitoring, Dr. Licuanan found that some plots, specifically in the USS Guardian are recovering. “Our projections on recovery rates at the USS Guardian site appears accurate. The impact plots should look like how it was before the grounding in four years. One Ming Ping Yu plot is also doing well,” expounds Dr. Licuanan.

In June, the research team established monitoring stations in Arena atoll, and Cawili, Calusa, and Dondonay islands, all part of the Cagayancillo group of islands 178 nautical miles off the coast of Puerto Princesa, Palawan and approximately four hours away from Tubbataha.

Coral rubble captured inside a monitoring quadrat at Ming Ping Yu grounding site

“The Cagayancillo reefs are interesting as most sites we visited have coral cover levels of oceanic reefs and atolls yet also have the diversity of inshore fringing reefs,” says Dr. Licuanan. During his surveys, he also observed that the corals in the Arena atoll are most likely prone to temperature fluctuation because of the surge of warm water from the lagoon as the tide changes. This brings him to a hypothesis that Arena might have climate-resilient corals. “I suspect it will be tested in the next few weeks as the seas are expected to get warmer in the region,” he adds, “I wish we can revisit those reefs sooner.”

Before the month ended, DLSU-SHORE and WWF-Philippines organized a reef assessment training in Puerto Princesa with delegates from the Tubbataha Management Office, Western Philippines University, Palawan State University, Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, Office of the Provincial Agriculture, Office of the Puerto Princesa City Agriculture, Provincial Environment Office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Smart Seas Philippines.

Delegates from the first leg Training on Coral Reef Assessments and Monitoring in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

This collaboration with concerned stakeholders and academic institutions is key for establishing a reef monitoring system in the region. “Working with local people to effectively manage MPAs entails having a common understanding about the situation of the marine environment in the area.  Science plays a significant part to achieve this.  As experienced in the past, research results help explain better the local observations and insights, thus creating a platform for meaningful conversations,” shares WWF-Philippines Project Manager Marivel Dygico.

Right after the lecture series, the DLSU SHORE training team with some participants proceeded to Taytay, Palawan to conduct reef assessments in five survey station

For Dr. Licuanan, monitoring reefs is a necessary step after the three-year natiowide coral reef assessment project. “Monitoring allows us to generate information that we can act on and potentially save corals. Assessments are useful only for writing obituaries for nature.”

de la salle university br. alfred shields fsc ocean research center dlsu-shore sulu sea tubbataha reefs natural park world wide fund for nature world wide fund for nature philippines wwf-philippines
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Team Orange
Team Orange

TEAM ORANGE is Orange Magazine TV's select contributors. It also contains Press Releases. Please follow @OrangeMagTV on Twitter for other updates.

Related Posts

Stay Cool, Shop IRL — SM is your go-to Summer Destination

May 10, 2025

SM Supermalls champions MSMEs at SM Dagupan’s Bangus Festival Food Fiesta

May 10, 2025

SM Supermalls hosts COMELEC Mall Voting on May 12

May 10, 2025

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
© 2025 OrangeMagazine.ph.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.