News for October, 2016

Scarborough Shoal Peace Park Proposed in the West Philippine Sea

Camillia Jane Bollozos | October 14, 2016

CCEF attended the lecture of Dr. John McManus, a professor of marine ecology at the University of Miami, Florida, on “The Philippines without Coral Reefs: A Look into Options for Management and Enforcement” on September 7, 2016 at the Cebu Provincial Capitol. Dr. McManus presented his observations of the extent of coral damage in the West Philippine Sea which were caused by dredging and the harvesting process of endangered species such as giant clams. It has come to a point where fish and invertebrate populations cannot be sustained.

Highlights from the “DEV Talks: A social development forum” learning event

Camillia Jane Bollozos | October 14, 2016

CCEF attended the learning event entitled “DEV Talks: A social development forum” held at the Cebu Grand Hotel last August 22 and 23, 2016. The forum was a convergence of development and empowered voices that tackled relevant information, trends and innovations in community development and promoted sharing of best practices among Local Government Units (LGUs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and among change leaders in society. The forum was organized by the Central Visayas Network of NGOs (CENVISNET) and the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.

Fluor Philippines and CCEF joined the International Clean-up (ICC)

Camillia Jane Bollozos | October 14, 2016

Fluor Philippines joined CCEF again in the celebration of the International Coastal Clean-up in last September 16, 2016 along the mangrove rehabilitation area in Barangay Cotcot, Liloan.
The first partnership with Fluor Philippines and CCEF for ICC was in September 2015, in Barangay Calero, another mangrove rehabilitation area of the Municipality of Liloan. Trash were collected and recorded by volunteers using Ocean Conservancy’s data forms.

Continued support for the coral reef rehabilitation and biodiversity monitoring in Siquijor

Camillia Jane Bollozos | October 14, 2016

Since 2003, CCEF has been working closely with the Province of Siquijor, which is located in central Philippines, on their coastal resource management and marine protected area (MPA) establishment. The foundation has also been assisting the province since 2013 in developing a science-based coral rehabilitation and reef fish recovery protocol for their typhoon damaged reefs.

Marine Protected Area (MPA) management is more than just corals and fish

Camillia Jane Bollozos | October 14, 2016

Despite conventional wisdom dictating law enforcement as a major factor for marine protected area (MPA) success, many factors influence MPA effectiveness. In the paper entitled “Larval dispersal and movement patterns of coral reef fishes, and implications for marine reserve network design” (Green et al., 2014) where two of the authors are from CCEF (i.e., Dr. Aileen Maypa and Dr. Alan White), it discusses how connectivity and fish movements as key ecological factors that must be considered when designing MPAs. Connectivity here pertains to the exchange of organisms (e.g.