Project update - Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (Philippines) - March 2004
Added to website: 01 March 2004
Project Brief
Aim
The Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project is a three-year collaborative project (2002-2005), 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
Baseline Surveys
Number and location of Surveys
35 survey dives done. Sector 12 is now completed at 1km intervals, with sector 19 finished at 500m intervals.
Number of transects completed
8 new transects started, 3 continuing and 8 completed
Reef Check
5 Reef Check surveys: 3 at Timba and 2 at Secret Garden.
Other activities (bleaching / COTs surveys / sediment traps)
Sediment traps collected from Liloan and Secret Garden. The samples have been delivered to SLSCST for analysis and we are awaiting the results.
Data Entry
The volunteers entered a huge volume of data this month, with all of sectors 12 and 19 now in the system. The data must now be rechecked by the science staff and will then undergo multivariate analysis in London before being grouped into habitat types and input to a Geographical Information System (GIS). Ultimately, this will produce a working habitat map for the use in the planning and implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management strategies by the Provincial Government of Southern Leyte.
Interesting / Unusual Sightings
Turtles, Risso’s and bottlenose dolphins, banded sea kraits, spotted eagle rays, white-tip reef sharks and hump-head wrasse. Quite a score!
Environmental Awareness
Capacity Building/Training of Local Counterparts
Met Eva Abad from the Coastal Resource Management Unit of the Provincial Government in Maasin to introduce our new counterpart-training programme that has been designed to be more accessible to prospective trainees.
Tomas Oppus Normal College environmental symposium
150 students attended the symposium on their no-study day and ensured that the event was a great success. CCC would like to thank Tomas Oppus N.C. for their invitation.
Brief Summary of Meetings Attended
Met up with Mr. Rodello Cruz and Dr. Leonardo Manalo (President) from SLSCST to make introductions and discuss plans. Mr. Cruz helped CCC in the setting up of our sector map and was very interested to know how we were progressing with the surveying project.
