38
July 2008
Establishing MPA Networks
in Marine Biodiversity
Conservation Corridors
By Miledel Christine C. Quibilan, Conservation International-Philippines
Porfi rio M. Aliño, Marine Science Institute, College of Science, University of the Philippines
Sheila G. Vergara, Conservation International-Philippines
and Romeo B. Trono, Conservation International-Philippines
At fi rst, there was a vision for a 50-year conservation goal. This biodiversity vision led to the
development of a stakeholders’ Ecoregion Conservation Plan (ECP) of the
Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME).
The governments of Indonesia, Malaysia
and the Philippines had considered
and put in place interim governance
mechanisms that operated within
country and across countries during
the planning stages of the SSME to
ensure coordination. These mechanisms
soon evolved into formal institutional
arrangements to support the
implementation of the ECP.
In many ways, the SSME is grounded on
trust, mutual respect and a willingness
to fi nd new ways of working together
among various stakeholders. Since it
embraced national priorities, mandates
and limitations, SSME’s ECP is now
successfully aligned to the national plans
of the three countries. It is also consistent
with their international commitments
and embedded in the Sustainable
Development Strategy for the Seas of
East Asia, which was adopted in Malaysia
in 2003, as a common platform for
regional cooperation in managing the
seas of the region.
International NGOs such as the World
Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and
Conservation International (CI), regional
institutions such as the Partnerships
in Environmental Management for the
Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), and the
governments of Indonesia, Malaysia
and the Philippines, together with
their partners, fund providers and
local communities have aligned their
conservation goals and outcomes
with existing national frameworks and
strategies as well as regional initiatives.
Collectively these eff orts help to
conserve the SSME.
The establishment of a network of
marine protected areas (MPAs) is one
of the tools to achieve this objective. By
eff ectively managing MPAs as a network,
managers could capitalize on and
leverage various stakeholders and the
bio-physical inter-relationships among
sites to make each MPA in the network
more robust against overexploitation
and degradation. The management
of a comprehensive, adequate and
representative system of MPAs will
contribute to the long-term ecological
viability of marine and estuarine systems,
maintain ecological processes and
systems and protect the Sulu-Sulawesi’s
biological diversity at all levels.
State of MPAs within the
Sulu-Sulawesi Seas
A review paper by Abesamis and Aliño
in 2006 revealed that there are at least
352 MPAs in the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas. Of
these, 343 are in the Philippines, 5 are
in Indonesia, 3 are in Malaysia, and 1 is
jointly managed by the Philippines and
Malaysia. Management data is only
available for 16 percent of the Philippine
MPAs [Editor’s Note: See Backcover of this
issue.].
In the Philippines, the number of MPAs
has been rapidly increasing (Arceo, et al.,
2008). Compared to other regions in the
country, the Visayan Sea region has the
most number of MPAs. The sizes of MPAs
have also increased. Around 48 percent
(out of those MPAs whose sizes were
available for the review) are now within
the 11 to 100 hectares size range, up
from many being in the 1 to 10 hectares
size range a decade ago.
Setting up MPA Networks
The Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion/
Seascape is composed of three
39
Tropical Coasts
known Philippine
biogeographic regions:
Sulu, Visayan and
Sulawesi Seas. The
interfaces or ‘marine
corridors’ between
these biogeographic
regions were identifi ed
as priority areas
for protection as
it is through these
bottlenecks that sub-
populations converge
and are connected (Ong, et al., 2002).
Maintaining these interconnections
enables sub-populations to replenish
other sub-populations making the entire
network more robust against extinctions.
The Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape Programme
aimed to provide a scientifi c basis for
MPA and MPA network establishment
within these marine biodiversity
conservation corridors (MBCCs). The
programme facilitated participatory
decision-making processes and
the development of appropriate
management plans to strengthen the
implementation and sustainability of
existing MPAs. It assisted in establishing
mechanisms for vertical coordination
among local and regional groups and
horizontal coordination with sectors
and localities within the governance
framework through the formulation
of new policies and creation of social
networks.
The fi rst phase implementation of the
SSS Programme (2005-2008) focused on
four strategic MBCCs namely: the Verde
Island Passage and the Balabac Strait
that link the Sulu Sea with the South
China Sea, the Tri-National Sea Turtle
Corridor that links the Sulu Sea with the
Sulawesi Sea, and the Cagayan Ridge,
which helps maintain connectivity of
marine populations within the central
Sulu Sea and beyond.
The MPA objectives of the SSS
Programme aim to strengthen individual
MPA eff ectiveness and provide the
proper scientifi c information needed to
develop networks of mutually supporting
MPAs. To strengthen MPA eff ectiveness,
technical and logistical support are being
provided to address immediate threats
to critical marine habitats and threatened
species: support for participatory
fi sheries management interventions
such as community-managed MPAs, and
assistance in the development of sound
coastal resource management plans.
Through grants from NGOs and
donors, studies are being undertaken
in partnership with universities and
laboratories to enable local scientists
to better understand the connectivity
between populations of marine
organisms within and across the
Verde Island Passage, Cagayan Ridge,
Balabac Strait and Tri-National Sea Turtle
corridors.
Initiatives in the Marine
Corridors
The Verde Island Passage MBCC has
36 MPAs — 24 in Batangas and 12 in
Oriental Mindoro. Most of these MPAs
are between 1 to 10 hectares, lack
appropriate technical descriptions,
and have no MPA management plans
in place. In November 2006, Executive
Order (E.O.) No. 578 was issued by
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo for the establishment of a
national policy on biodiversity to be
implemented throughout the country,
particularly the Sulu-Sulawesi marine
ecosystem. The E.O. highlighted and
prescribed its implementation in the
One of the 10 major objectives of
the ECP of the SSME is to “Establish
a functional integrated network
of priority conservation areas to
ensure ecological integrity”.
Verde Island Passage. In support of
the E.O., the Verde Island Passage
Framework Plan was fi nalized and
is in the process of adoption by the
respective local government units.
The Cagayan Ridge MBCC is linked
with the Tubbataha Reef National
Marine Park (TRNMP), a UNESCO
World Heritage Site. Other known
diving destinations along the ridge
are the Jessie Beazely, Basterra and
Bancoran and inhabited islands like
Cawili, Arena, Calusa and Cagayancillo.
In 2006, the TRNMP was renamed the
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) by
virtue of Presidential Proclamation 1126
(See Box 1). Increasing in size from 33,200
ha to 96,896 ha, the TRNP now holds the
distinction as the MPA with the largest
marine area in the Philippines where
extractive activities are prohibited (i.e.,
“no take”). Still pending in Congress, the
Tubbataha Bill (House Bill 5515 series of
2002) has yet to be passed.
North of the TRNP is Cagayancillo
where there are four no-take MPAs,
namely Balabag, Talaga and Nusa, as
well as one located in Cawili Island.
Buff er areas between 300 to 500 m
from the no-take MPA boundary may
be designated for all four no-take
MPAs. MPA management plans for
these no-take areas are currently being
drafted.
At the Balabac Strait, the local
government of Balabac has declared
the entire municipal waters as the
Balabac Marine Protected Ecoregion
under Municipal Ordinance No. 1-2005.
Under this ordinance, a 44,000-hectare
‘strict protection zone’ has been
designated where resource extraction
is prohibited but pearl culture
activities are allowed. CI-Philippines
and partner Tanggol Kalikasan, Inc.
(Defense of Nature) trained local
enforcers on environmental laws,
criminal procedure, investigation and
evidence gathering for prosecution of
environmental cases.