Coral Reef Monitoring in the Philippines HAZEL O. ARCEO The Marine Science Institute College of Science, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 1101
State and Pressures of Coral Reefs Philippine coral reefs at the center of the world s marine biodiversity Marine Fish Species Diversity Hard Coral Species Diversity Our reefs contribute to at least over P 80 billion pesos in goods and services annually South East Asia Great Barrier Reef Caribbean 2,500 1,500 500-600 400-500 395 100-200 Sources: Chou 1997; Veron, 2001; and Williams, 2001; PEMSEA - Food and livelihood - Protect our coastline - Recreation and tourism - Education and health
State and Pressures of Coral Reefs Reef Condition Coral Cover (%) % of reefs Very healthy >75 1 Healthy 50-75 9 Fair 25-50 50 Poor/Very Poor <25 40 Wilkinson 2008 Coral cover decreased to 3-5% of the 1980s values Many reefs are in degraded state and overfished 2002 2012 Threats to coral reefs (Philippine SCTR)
IV III V II XI I IX X VIII Investigation of Coral Reef Resources of the Philippines (1976-1981) nationwide assessment of coral reefs >500 reef sites surveyed produced the quartile benchmark standard (i.e., poor: 0-24.9%, fair:25-49%, good: 50-74%, excellent:75-100% live coral cover) VII VI ICRP sites (province level) Marine biogeographic regions (in colors) Climate Typologies by David et al. (green lines) Estimated coral reef areas (red lines) Slide courtesy of E. Penaflor
Regular Updates of the Status of Philippine Reefs
Arceo et al. 2001 1998 Massive Coral Bleaching Event
% cover % cover % cover 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% -20% 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% -20% -40% 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% -20% Bolinao LC DC DCA AA KIG & Palawan Shelf LC DC DCA AA Tubbataha Reefs LC DC DCA AA Jun- 9 8 A ug - 9 8 Jun- 9 9 A p r- 9 8 N o v- 9 8 M ay- 9 9 M ay- 9 8 N o v- 9 8 M ay- 9 9 1997-1998 Coral Bleaching - No signs of recovery and major shift to an algal-dominated community in Bolinao - Initial signs of recovery for moderately- and low-stressed area (KIG, Palawan & Tubbataha) but recovery potential is good Source: Arceo et al. (2002)
Long-Term Monitoring in MPAs Source: Redrawn from Russ and Alcala (1994) in Roberts and Hawkins 2000 Russ and Alcala (2010)
Participatory Coral Reef Monitoring
P Performance Incentives Socio-Economic MARINE PROTECTED AREA (MPA) MONITORING & EVALUATION P Biophysical
MPA Awards (Para El MAR) for Best Practices in MPA management in the Philippines 2007 Iloilo City 2009 Cebu City 2011 Quezon City 2013 Quezon City 1 st Place Handumon Marine Sanctuary Getafe, Bohol Pilar Municipal Marine Park Pilar, Cebu Bangaan Marine Sanctuary Tungawan, Zamboanga Sibugay Tambunan Marine Sanctuary Tabina, Zamboanga del Sur 2 nd Place Sagay Marine Reserve Sagay City, Neg. Occ. Tambunan MPA Tabina, Zamboanga del Sur Bangrin Mangrove MPA Bani, Pangasinan Buluan Island Marine Sanctuar Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay 3 rd Place Twin Rocks Marine Sanctuary Mabini, Batangas Ambao Fish Sanctuary and Marine Reserve Hinundayan, S. Leyte Twin Rocks Marine Sanctuary Mabini, Batangas Tambunan MPA Tabina, Zamboanga del Sur Can-usod Fish Sanctuary Lawaan, E. Samar Molopolo-Sta. Cruz Marine Park Bird & Fish Sanctuary Macrohon, S. Leyte
Major Initiatives in Coral Reef Research & Management R & D DOST RESOURCE M&E reef mapping, assessment & monitoring tools Vulnerability Assessment Visualization technology RESTORATION Coral Triangle Initiative coral propagation, restoration technology Asexual Sexual ReefResto Filinnovation Sexual Repro Genetics & Genomics SCREMP-DENR (initiated) [DENR, NIPAS sites] Biodiversity Marine natural products (PharmaSeas) Managing reefs for resilience Management DENR BFAR LGUs NGOs communities Marine Protected Areas DENR [NIPAS] BFAR, LGU [non-nipas] Coral production Reef-based Livelihood Development Coral Farming (DA-BFAR) Ecotourism (DENR-SCREMP) UTILIZATION Industry Fisheries Tourism 12
Slide from WY Licuanan 2014
RESCUE SITES Identification and study of RESCUS SITES should take into consideration the heterogeneity of Philippine water exposures
National Assessment of Coral Reef Environments (NACRE) 1. Synoptic Investigations of Human Impacts on Nearshore Environments (SHINE): Coral Reefs / DLSU 2. People and the Environment: Assessment of Reeffish Resiliency and Associated Livelihoods (PEARRL) / UPMSI 3. Synoptic Investigations of Human Impacts on Nearshore Environments (SHINE): Reef-Associated Habitats / DLSU 4. Watershed and Ocean Parameters for Assessment of Coral Reef Health / UPMSI 5. Coral Reef Knowledge Management System: Bayesian Belief Network Modeling and Remote Sensing / UPMSI
Complementation of National Coral Reef Programs II From assessment to monitoring SENTINEL SITES CORVA locations NACRE indicative sites