For actively helping the coastal and marine ecosystems recover and regenerate, the Palawan government named the Bulalacao marine protected area in Coron as the province’s Best Community-Managed MPA.
Established in 2014, the 3,297-hectare area has two strict protection zones and two sustainable use zones.
Malampaya Foundation assisted the community in the Bulalacao MPA’s creation and management.
Malampaya Executive Director Karen Agabin attributeed the award to its “collaborative partnership” with the Bulalacao indigenous peoples group, the Coron local government, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the Philippine Coast Guard, the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources, and of Energy, and the Philippine National Police-Maritime.
She noted that since its rehabilitation started two years ago, the area is now thriving and is abundant with various species of fish.
“When we first mapped and surveyed Bulalacao back in 2012, the surrounding ocean was in a horrible state, with reefs and the fishing grounds heavily damaged from decades of dynamite and other unsustainable fishing methods,” Agabin said.
“You would hardly see any fish, any marine life, that time. Now, through the collaborative effort of all stakeholders, we have observed a 100-fold increase in fish abundance, along with the return of long-absent endangered species like the napoleon wrasse,” she added.
Agabin said the establishment and launch of Bulalacao MPA was the culmination of about two years of social preparation, collaboration, and cooperation among the barangay and Tagbanua leaders, community members, the Coron municipal government, NICP, BFAR, the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, and the Malampaya Foundation.
Agabin explained: “In the next few years, what we hope to see is continuous coral regeneration. A large component of that is addressing the coastal communities, making them our partners, and getting their leaders to contribute in the overall marine conservation effort.”
And with the active participation of all stakeholders, “we are very optimistic to see a sustainable development in coral regeneration,” she noted.
She noted that her group will also start getting more legislative support for the MPA.
“Now, we are in the process of helping them expand the Bulalacao MPA. After a few years, when the community realized and saw the benefits of a properly and effectively managed MPA, they initiated to expand the MPA. We have done an initial mapping and now we are undergoing another social and legal process,” she said.
She added: “To have the MPA supported by legislation through ordinances, there will be a series of consultations and consents from various stakeholders. We are hopeful that we will have it expanded by next year.”
As of 2019, Malampaya Foundation’s marine conservation program area spans 329,627 hectares under 31 conservation agreements with 30 barangays and 14 municipalities.
Several of its MPAs are used as models by other municipalities in the Philippines that are aiming to improve coastal and marine conservation efforts in their respective areas.