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Philippine Coral Reefs
The Philippine
coral reef area, the second largest in Southeast Asia,
is estimated at 26,000 square kilometers and holds
an extraordinary diversity of species. Scientists
have identified 915 reef fish species and more than
400 scleractinian coral species, 12 of which are endemic.[1]
A large coastal population,
rapid population growth of about 2.3 percent per year,
high poverty rates, and fisher overcapacity have resulted
in major overexploitation of Philippine reef fisheries.[2]
Demersal fish stocks are biologically and economically
overfished in almost all areas other than eastern
Luzon, Palawan, and the southern Sulu Sea.[3]
Destructive fishing
techniques are thought to be the largest contributor
to reef degradation in the Philippines.[4] Muro-ami,
a technique that involved sending a line of divers
to depths of 10-30 m with metal weights to knock on
corals in order to drive fish out and into waiting
nets was extremely damaging to reefs, leading to its
ban in 1986. Rampant blast fishing and sedimentation
from land-based sources have destroyed 70 percent
of fisheries within 15 square kilometers of the shore
in the Philippines, which were some of the most productive
habitats in the world.[5] Although increased enforcement,
larger penalties, and educational campaigns slowed
the damage in the 1990s, many fishers have brought
destructive practices to new areas. Reports indicate
that many operations have shifted to more remote,
pristine areas such as the Palawan group of islands,
the Sulu Archipelago, parts of the Visayas, and western
Mindanao.[6]
Coastal development,
agriculture, aquaculture, and land-cover change threaten
many Philippine coral reefs. Over 80 percent of original
tropical forests and mangroves in the Philippines
have been cleared, increasing sediment outflow onto
reefs.[7] Mangroves continue to be cut and the areas
converted to fish ponds, a change that allows more
nutrients and sediment to reach reefs.[8] Domestic
and industrial wastes are rarely treated in the Philippines
and are often discharged into the sea.
The first ever mass-bleaching
event in the Philippines was reported in 1998-99.
It began at Batangas, off Luzon, in June 1998 and
then proceeded nearly clockwise around the Philippines,
correlating with anomalous sea-surface temperatures.[9]
Most reefs of northern Luzon, west Palawan, the Visayas,
and parts of Mindanao were affected. Subsequent mortalities
were highly variable, with decreases in live coral
cover ranging from 0.7 to 46 percent and up to 80
percent in Bolinao. [10]
In the late 1970s,
the most extensive survey of coral reefs conducted
in the Philippines showed widespread human impact
on the reefs. The Inventory of the Coral Resources
of the Philippines (ICRP) found only about 5 percent
of reefs to be in excellent condition, with over 75
percent coral cover (both hard and soft).[11]
More recent surveys
in 1997 found a slightly lower percentage of reefs
to be in excellent condition. They found only 4 percent
of Philippine reefs in excellent condition (i.e.,
over 75 percent hard or soft coral cover), 28 percent
in good condition (50-75 percent coral cover), 42
percent in fair condition (25-50 percent coral cover),
and 27 percent in poor condition (less than 25 percent
coral cover). The Visayas have experienced the most
significant decline in coral cover, exhibiting an
average of only 11 percent hard coral cover. Coral
status information for Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago
is limited.[12]
The RRSEA model suggests
that overfishing and destructive fishing are the most
severe threats to coral reef health. Over 80 percent
of Philippine reefs are threatened by overfishing,
although this figure is likely to be an underestimate
because it only accounts for nearshore fishing pressures.
The model’s mapping of areas at risk from blast
fishing and fishing with poisons suggests that over
70 percent of Philippine reefs continue to be at risk
from these practices. In addition, coastal development
pressures threaten over 40 percent of Philippine reefs,
and about 35 percent of reefs are under pressure from
sedimentation and pollution associated with land-use
changes. When the various threats from human activities
are combined, the model estimates that 98 percent
of Philippine reefs are at risk from human activities,
with 70 percent at high or very high risk.
Government agencies
managing coral reefs in the Philippines are generally
understaffed and insufficiently funded for effective
management and monitoring of coral reefs. Many laws
and regulations concerning coral reefs already exist,
including bans on cyanide fishing, blast fishing,
and the collection or export of hard (Scleractinia)
corals. For the most part, though, these laws are
not adequately enforced.[13] About 500 MPAs are currently
listed in Philippine records, but many were never
actually established and even fewer are effectively
managed.[14] The Philippine government has actively
encouraged local management of reefs, and there have
been some outstanding success stories.[15]
Notes
1 . Fish data from
W.Y. Licuanan and E.D. Gomez, Philippine Coral Reefs,
Reef Fishes, and Associated Fisheries: Status and
Recommendations To Improve Their Management (Cape
Ferguson: Australian Institute of Marine Science,
2000), p. 4; coral data from Wilkinson, Status of
Coral Reefs of the World: 2000, p. 120.
2. Chou Loke Ming,
"Status of Southeast Asian Coral Reefs,"
in C. Wilkinson, ed., Status of Coral Reefs of the
World: 1998 (Cape Ferguson: Australian Institute of
Marine Science, 1998), p. 83.
3. M. Spalding, C.
Ravilious, and E.P. Green, World Atlas of Coral Reefs
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001),
p. 283.
4. Chou, "Status
of Southeast Asian Coral Reefs," p. 84.
5. Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), "Fishery
Country Profile: The Philippines," http://www.fao.org/fi/fcp/fcp.asp
(September 20, 2001).
6. Chou, "Southeast Asian Reefs-Status
Update," p. 124.
7. Chou, "Status of Southeast
Asian Coral Reefs," p. 84.
8. Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) et al., "International
Coral Reef Initiative Country Report: Philippines,"
paper presented at the International Coral Reef Initiative
(ICRI) Regional Workshop for East Asia, Cebu, Philippines,
April 2-4, 2001, p. 10.
9. Licuanan and Gomez,
Philippine Coral Reefs, Reef Fishes, and Associated
Fisheries, (Cape Ferguson: Australian Institute of
Marine Science, 2000), p. 16.
10. M.F.B. Divinagracia,
"Extent and Degree of Coral Bleaching in Selected
Reefs in Central Visayas, Philippines," thesis
for the degree of Master of Science in Biology, Siliman
University, Philippines (2000); Licuanan and Gomez,
Philippine Coral Reefs, Reef Fishes, and Associated
Fisheries, p. 16.
11. E.D. Gomez, "Coral
Reef Ecosystems and Resources of the Philippines,"
Canopy International 16, 5 (1991): 1, 6-7, 10-12.
12. Licuanan and
Gomez, Philippine Coral Reefs, Reef Fishes, and Associated
Fisheries, pp. 2-7.
13. Licuanan and
Gomez, Philippine Coral Reefs, Reef Fishes, and Associated
Fisheries, p. 16.
14. DENR et al.,
"International Coral Reef Initiative Country
Report: Philippines," p. 8.
15. Spalding, Ravilious, and Green,
World Atlas of Coral Reefs p. 284.
For more information, visit Reefs at Risk in Southeast
Asia.
Source: http://biodiv.wri.org/pubs_content_text.cfm?ContentID=107
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