Project update - Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (Philippines) - November 2004
Added to website: 01 November 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
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.
Number of transects completed
Transects 0707B, 0607C, 0607D, 0607A, 0614A, 0614B, 0614C,0606A, 0607E, 0501A, 0607F, 0501B, 0608D, 0501D, 0501C, 0605C, 0705A, 0601D, 0705B, 0705C, 0610C and 0606B.
Reef Check
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. In order to do this, we mark the survey ‘transect’ with metal stakes, to ensure that repeat surveys are in the same place each time. These stakes are sited in rock, dead coral or sand for minimal disruption of the fragile reef system. CCC is proud to be a major contributing member of ReefCheck. Check out their site at www.ReefCheck.org
Reef Check stakes have been set up in the proposed fish sanctuary in Buenavista as part of the long term monitoring plan. Reef Check survey dives have been started in Buenavista and Santa Sofia proposed fish sanctuary (near Medicare).
Interesting / Unusual Sightings
Marlin have been spotted leaping out of the water by Coral Cay Conservation volunteers while on their way to a dive site. This large fish is an extremely fast moving predator, among the fastest fish in the ocean. Sightings of top predators such as these should occur more often as numbers of the smaller fish they prey on increase through conservation efforts such as the proposed fish sanctuaries.
Environmental Awareness
Capacity Building/Training of Local Counterparts
Buenavista barangay council together with representatives from the DENR and Coral Cay Conservation completed a beach clean up and inspection of the mangroves planted the previous month. Some of the mangroves had clearly grown, however many of them had barnacles on them. Barnacles are small animals that can smother and kill young mangroves. The barnacles were carefully removed without damaging the bark using hands and the side of bamboo. Buenavista plan to continue regular clean-ups to try and increase the survival rate of the mangroves.
A presentation was given by Coral Cay Conservation to CENRO and DENR on Coastal Resource Management and Marine Protected Areas. Coral Cay Conservation staff look forward to working with them more in the future.
Barangay captains from Tangka-an, Buenavista, Santa Sofia and Lungsoda-an, and representatives from the provincial and municipal government have agreed exact locations for the proposed fish sanctuaries using the Global Positioning System (GPS) on Coral Cays new banka “Sanga”. This is one of the stages in establishing a well managed fish sanctuary. This month Coral Cay have also started a monitoring strategy for each proposed fish sanctuary, which will be included within their management plan.
Upcoming Events
Renovations have been completed on the Fred the Fish puppet show that will first be performed in Tangka-an on December 6th.
