Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project: March 2007 update
Added to website: 25 April 2007
Project Brief
Aim
The Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (SLCRCP) is a six-year collaborative project (2002–2008), to survey the coral reefs of Sogod Bay. The programme provides training and conservation education opportunities for local Filipinos, as part of an integrated programme to develop local capacity and ensure the long-term protection and sustainable use of marine resources throughout the region.
Location
Sogod Bay, Southern Leyte, South-Eastern Philippines.
CCC Partners
CCC is working at the invitation of and in partnership with the Provincial Government of Southern Leyte and the Philippine Reef & Rainforest Conservation Foundation Inc (PRRCFI).
Marine Science Programme
Background: Our baseline surveying programme is designed to gather data about the biological and morphological standing of Sogod Bay. These data are combined with information on human and natural impacts on the reefs, along with oceanographic data, to ultimately produce a Geographical Information System ‘map’ of the various habitats of the bay. It is like a ‘stock-take’ of the current marine resources, which is being produced to provide policymakers and concerned institutions with information necessary to effectively manage those resources. To date, the northern end of Sogod Bay has been surveyed, and the remainder of the project will concentrate on the south and Limasawa Island. If you would like more information on our surveying rationale or methodology, please don’t hesitate to contact our Project Scientist.We are very happy with our survey efforts this month. An experienced and large team of volunteer allowed us to finish eight transects, and set a new record with 1580m of surveyed terrain!!! A reason for this unusual distance covered was also the presence of sandy bottoms, which could be assessed rapidly. Nevertheless, we want to thank all volunteers involved for the exemplary dedication they showed. The efforts were concentrated on Limasawa Island and the waters off St. Roque Barangay, where we also discovered an aesthetically impressive wall, which adds even more value to Sogod Bay as a diving destination.
| Transect | Barangay | Site | Start Depth | Finish Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B2701 | San Roque | Nr. MPA | 24.0 | 1.8 |
| B2702 | San Roque | Nr. MPA | 24.0 | 5.4 |
| B2703 | San Roque | Nr. MPA | 24.0 | 1.7 |
| B2704 | San Roque | Nr. MPA | 23.8 | 3.5 |
| B2705 | San Roque | Nr. MPA | 24.0 | 3.6 |
| B2706 | San Roque | Nr. MPA | 24.0 | 2.0 |
| B0537 | Tangka’an | Nr. MPA | 23.5 | 2.0 |
| B0107 | S. Limasawa | Nr. MPA | 24.0 | 3.7 |
| B2706 | San Roque | Nr. MPA | 24.0 | 1.8 |
ReefCheck
Background: Based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), ReefCheck is the name of both the world’s largest coral reef monitoring network and of the common methodology used, allowing the comparison of results from various locations worldwide. Although less detailed than CCC’s baseline surveys, the ReefCheck method is effective for monitoring changes in reef health over time. CCC is proud to be a major contributing member of ReefCheck. Check out their site at www.ReefCheck.orgThis month we have we focussed mainly on the baseline survey, with only three reef check carried out in front our house reef. We plan to carry out some more the coming month of April, since CCC believe in the importance of this world wide program, and wants to continue contribute as one of the main contributors to Reef Checks ongoing efforts to assess the worlds coral reefs.
Education and Community Projects
Despite the big survey effort, we managed to avoid loosing speed on our Community Projects and relationship with the local Community.
Sunday 11th the staff and almost all volunteers visited the Kinderhilfe orphanage in the near village of Padre Burgos. This Charity, set up by Mr. Schneidt almost 20 years ago, provides home, education and much hope to over 100 kids coming from much of the province. We were impressed by the tidiness and healthy atmosphere characterising the very nice orphan village. Even more impressive, was the general sense of happiness, with all the pupils welcoming us warmly with big smiles and curiosity. We could not help to invite them in for an Open Day! This followed on the Sunday 25th, with 37 between 6 and 11 years old kids invading our expedition site and participating to the various educational games and also having a very appreciated snorkel tour, followed by a spontaneous “splash session” in the shallow waters near the beach.
Sunday 18th, we resumed the Reef Rangers Program, after a break of a few months. This program aims to train small groups of high school students in basic snorkelling survey. Trough this, we hope to raise the general awareness among the young generation on the natural resources they will be called to manage soon in the future. The ten Rangers of St. Roque followed with much motivation a revision session on both theory and survey technique practice. A real survey is planned for the coming month.
Following in the week, we were very pleased to be invited for giving a lecture at the Bontoc Campus of the Southern Leyte State University, who started a Marine Science Bachelor Program recently. We were asked to give a general lecture we called “The Daily Bread of a Marine Biologist”, since it covered much of the discipline range, providing a overview of the many application fields of Marine Biology, from academic research to private industry and Conservation efforts. Particular emphasis was set on the threats to the reefs and the actual management strategies such as the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPA), where CCC has hands-on experience. We look forward to pursue this honouring collaboration, possibly setting up a lecture module for the coming semester.
The following Day, Thursday 22nd, we took the pleasure to invite the Padre Burgos’s MPA Oversight Committee to visit Mactan Island, a world-recognized diving destination close to the bigger Cebu Island. Due to his beautiful reefs, the easy accessibility for tourists and the presence of larger cities such as Lapu Lapu and Metro Cebu Mactan Island, the necessity of conservation efforts trough MPA’a became evident already almost 20 years ago. Various NGO’s and private initiatives, in collaboration with the Government lead to the today’s situation where, although the work never stops, larger coastal areas are protected and capably managed, creating important revenues for the local community in terms of tourism related activities as well as recovering fish stocks. We had the chance to let our guests have useful discussions with the key people in charge of the management of two very successful MPA’s. On Saturday, a debrief workshop pointed that our guests had lots of important inputs on how the management of “their” MPA’s can be improved as well as new motivation to do better and better, and therefore I consider this trip as very successful, and a highlight of our community work for this month. Special Thanks goes to Mike and Nora Ross, both dedicated conservationists who works in the Mactan region since many years, and therefore have much experience to share. Their help in organizing our visit was essential for his success.
In S. Leyte, schools have summer break at the end of March. Therefore, the last week of this month has seen all students going trough exams and graduations. We attended the ceremony of graduation at the St. Roque High School, who has gifted us a certification of appreciation for the our work with their Reef Rangers, as well as the Graduation Day at the S. Leyte State University. Attending these celebrations was an interesting experience and a good chance to learn more about the scholastic system but, on the first line, has been a pleasure and an honour, since we see the invitations as an indicator that our community efforts are appreciated.
Another event we were very pleased to attend was the Governor Lerias’s Final Report. Governor Rosette Y Lerias has been in charge since 1998; the following 14th of May she will retire from the actual position since the law doesn’t allow to carry out more than three mandates consecutively. On March 28th, she delivered a report of all the programs and projects she managed to accomplish. CCC is in no way involved with the political activity and even less with the campaigning firing up in this period because of the coming elections. However, I personally could not help to be impressed by the energy of this woman, as well as the long list of improved assistance and services to the community that Governor Lerias and her establishment achieved in their period of lead. Particularly of interest beside the environmental sensibility, who brought CCC here at her invitation, are the huge efforts put into the area of sanitation as well as Education, with S. Leyte schools ranked as Nr.1 in the Philippines, a positive signal for the future of this region.
As last event in this busy month, a small staff representative joined in the 486th Celebration of the first Catholic Mess in the Philippines, on Limasawa Island. This Island in the south of Sogod Bay is at the moment one of our main survey targets, but it’s shorelines have seen more accredited seamen in the past. In fact, Magellan landed on the same Island 486 years ago, this being his first step over Philippino ground, and the start of a long religious conversion path, which sees the Philippines nowadays with a large majority of Christians. The celebration included a Mess lead by the Bishop of Maasin, the provincial capital, followed by traditional dances, official speeches and general sense of joy on a beautiful although still laid-back Island.
Interesting/Unusual Sightings
Turtles seems to be a usual sighting now, with some lucky divers spotting four on the same dive. However, this does not decreases our interest in the ancient reptiles, known to be good indicators of the reef health. A survey team was lucky enough to spot a hammerhead shark, definitely the high light of this month, even if no picture could be taken. Indeed, sharks are rare in the region, most probably due to very high fishing pressure and hunting. We deeply hope this record to be the first of an increasing list!
This month, a group of CCC staff and volunteers returned to Sonok Point once again to survey the whale sharks in the region: 4 individuals were sighted during the morning; unfortunately, no useful picture for the Whale Shark Trust could be taken this time.
Coral Cay Conservation provides resources to help sustain livelihoods and alleviate poverty through the protection, restoration and management of coral reefs and tropical forests.
