TropicalCoast 4th new indd

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 

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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. 

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