Coral Reef Monitoring

in the Philippines

The Marine Science Institute

College of Science, University of the Philippines

Diliman, Quezon City 1101

HAZEL O. ARCEO

• Philippine coral reefs – at the

center of the world’s marine

biodiversity

• Our reefs contribute to at least

over P 80 billion pesos in goods

and services annually

- Food and livelihood

- Protect our coastline

- Recreation and tourism

- Education and health

100-200500-600Caribbean

3951,500Great Barrier Reef

400-5002,500South East Asia

Hard Coral Species

Diversity

Marine Fish Species

Diversity

Sources: Chou 1997; Veron, 2001; and Williams, 2001; PEMSEA

State and Pressures of Coral Reefs

State and Pressures of Coral Reefs

• Coral cover decreased to 3-

5% of the 1980s values

• Many reefs are in degraded state and overfished

Threats to coral reefs (Philippine SCTR)

2002 2012

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

Slide courtesy of E. Penaflor

II

I

X

IX

III

IV

XI

VIII

VII

V

VI

+

+

+

+

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+

+

+

+

+

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+ +

+

+ ++ ++

+ ICRP sites (province level)

Marine biogeographic regions (in colors)Climate Typologies by David et al. (green lines)Estimated coral reef areas (red lines)

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)

Regular Updates of the

Status of Philippine Reefs

Arceo et al. 2001

1998 Massive

Coral Bleaching

Event

Bolinao

-20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

LC DC DCA AA

% c

ove

rJun- 9 8

A ug- 9 8

Jun- 9 9

KIG & Palawan Shelf

-40%

-20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

LC DC DCA AA

% c

ove

r

A pr- 9 8

N ov- 9 8

M ay- 9 9

Tubbataha Reefs

-20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

LC DC DCA AA

% c

ove

r

M ay- 9 8

N ov- 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

MARINE PROTECTED AREA (MPA)

MONITORING & EVALUATIONSocio-Economic

Biophysical

P

P

PerformanceIncentives

MPA Awards (Para El MAR) for Best

Practices in MPA management in the

Philippines

2007Iloilo City

2009Cebu City

2011Quezon City

2013Quezon City

1st

Place

Handumon Marine SanctuaryGetafe, Bohol

Pilar Municipal Marine ParkPilar, Cebu

Bangaan Marine SanctuaryTungawan, Zamboanga Sibugay

Tambunan Marine SanctuaryTabina, Zamboanga del Sur

2nd

Place

Sagay Marine ReserveSagay City, Neg. Occ.

Tambunan MPATabina, Zamboanga del Sur

Bangrin Mangrove MPABani, Pangasinan

Buluan Island Marine SanctuarIpil, Zamboanga Sibugay

3rd

Place

Twin Rocks Marine SanctuaryMabini, Batangas

Ambao Fish Sanctuary and Marine ReserveHinundayan, S. Leyte

Twin Rocks Marine SanctuaryMabini, Batangas

Tambunan MPATabina, Zamboanga del Sur

Can-usod Fish SanctuaryLawaan, E. Samar

Molopolo-Sta. Cruz Marine Park Bird & Fish SanctuaryMacrohon, S. Leyte

Coral Triangle Initiative

BiodiversityMarine natural products (PharmaSeas)

RESOURCE M&E

Major Initiatives in Coral Reef Research & Management

12

reef mapping, assessment & monitoring tools

Vulnerability Assessment

Visualization technology

Marine Protected Areas

DENR [NIPAS]

BFAR, LGU [non-NIPAS]

R & DDOST

Management

DENRBFARLGUsNGOscommunities

SCREMP-DENR (initiated)[DENR, NIPAS sites]

Industry

Fisheries

Tourism

Reef-based Livelihood Development

Coral Farming (DA-BFAR)

Ecotourism (DENR-SCREMP)

UTILIZATIONCoral production

RESTORATION

coral propagation, restoration technology

AsexualReefResto

Filinnovation

Managing reefs for resilience

Sexual Sexual Repro

Genetics & Genomics

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 Reef-fish 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

II

CORVA locations

Complementation of

National Coral Reef

Programs

NACRE indicative sites

• From

assessment to monitoring

SENTINEL SITES