‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” This proverb also applies in the case of an effort to rehabilitate degraded environments, such as the country’s coastal and marine environment, particularly its coral cover.
A coral-monument project of a nongovernment organization triggered a debate on social media about coral transplantation or coral gardening.
Danny Ocampo, an award-winning underwater photographer and expert diver, chanced upon the controversial nursery project during a dive with his friends in what is known as the Basura dive site in Janao Bay, in Barangay San Jose, Mabini, Batangas, on September 1.
‘Save our oceans’
A catchy slogan, such as “Save our Oceans,” is commonly used by project proponents with good intentions.
“During the dive, we saw an underwater structure with the logo of JCI [JCI Parañaque Pambato] with the words ‘Save Our Oceans’ under it and several coral heads [scattered] in front. What called my attention was the coral heads [not fragments] laid out in front of the sign on the sandy substrate. Some of the coral heads were bleached already, while the others were in the early stages of bleaching,” Ocampo, also an environmental advocate, told the BusinessMirror.
Ocampo photographed what he and his friends saw, and again after almost a month, and compared the photographs.
He posted them a month later on his Facebook account, showing the deterioration of the coral heads before and after, as if they were in a state of bleaching, or dying, if not already dead.
“Most of the coral heads were attached to a rocky substrate and placed on the sand with some almost smothered by sand and silt,” he said.
Not an ideal site
According to Ocampo, Basura is a muck diving site with mostly sandy or silty substrate and some seagrass bed patches. It is, apparently, not an ideal site for coral transplantation or coral gardening.
“During the habagat season, huge waves enter the Janao Bay, stir up a lot of silt and changes the contour of the coastline,” he said.
Done incorrectly, coral transplantation is as good as rendering a death sentence to fragments, especially if they were cut out from a living coral for transplantation or coral gardening in another location.
Through the years, Ocampo said he had observed efforts to do coral transplantation and nurseries, but most of them have failed and just led to the death of corals.
“I have called these out on my Facebook page posts, such as these foliose corals transplanted on the sandy substrate, and most of them are already dead and dying,” he said.
There were efforts to put up coral nurseries and or propagation areas in the past, such as mounting corals on metal poles above the sand, he noted.
Coral gardening
Coral gardening is defined in a policy brief of the De La Salle University-Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies as the process of restoring cover of a damaged reef by affixing live coral fragments.
The reef-rehabilitation method has been gaining popularity in the Philippines. But the authors of the study titled, “Coral Gardening: Issues and Challenges,” said that, while it has its applications, it should be the last option for bringing a reef back to a healthy state.
The authors include Michelle Z. Reyes, Darwin J.C. Raymundo, Sameen J. Rizwan and Wilfredo Y. Licuanan of the Br. Alfred Shields, FSC, Ocean Research Center, De La Salle University, Manila.
Better ways
“Proper management of reef resources through marine protected areas, removal of stressors and easing of fishing pressure provide a broader and more holistic approach while allowing the reef to recover by itself,” the authors said in the study.
According to the study, “if coral gardening is the only viable option available for rehabilitating a certain reef, careful consideration must be put into site selection, coral species to be utilized and the management of transplantation sites.”
It added that national and local government permits required for operating a coral-gardening initiative should also be obtained, and a monitoring plan formulated to assess its effectivity in the long run.
Coral gardening in the Philippines boomed in 2012 with a government-funded project that was rolled out in several provinces, it said.
Almost half a million coral fragments in more than 500 coral nursery units have been deployed all over the country since then, including those that are funded or implemented by nongovernment organizations and individuals.
Corals of opportunity
In looking for coral fragments for purpose of transplantation or coral gardening, the study suggested to obtain corals of opportunity (COP), or coral fragments washed ashore or those that were already detached by strong waves or by accident, rather than intentionally breaking them off from live corals.
These COPs picked up from the shores or ocean floor, however, must still be alive and viable, for them to grow after transplantation.
If corals are to be cut off from live coral-hosts, there must be a high coral cover to help ensure the hosts can recover from extensive damage.
Poor coral cover
A recent study covering 166 coral reef stations all over the Philippines found an average of 22 percent hard coral cover, 10 percent lower than that reported in the 1990s, citing a study by Licuanan et al. in 2017.
“Most local reefs may, therefore, not tolerate the further loss of corals from harvesting for gardening,” the study suggested.
Other issues include the high mortality rate of corals during transplantation, which is also affected by factors like the suitability of transplantation site or area chosen for coral gardening.
Permit required
The implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 10654, which amended the Fisheries Code, state that all coral farming and propagation activities require an Aquatic Wildlife Farm Permit issued by the Department of Agriculture, particularly its Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
Moreover, the study noted that gathering of corals for any other reason outside of scientific and research purpose is illegal.
Most coral nurseries and rehabilitation initiatives in the country operate without the proper national government permit, the study revealed.
No permit
Vincent Hilomen of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources- Biodiversity Management Bureau said the DENR has not issued any permit for coral transplantation in Mabini, Batangas.
In fact, even within the DENR, there was a debate on the issue. As far as JCI is concerned, he said the DENR only issued a permit for the installation of small structures for divers, but specifically, coral transplantation was not allowed.
“It is just for a small area, and we specifically said no coral transplantation,” Hilomen told the BusinessMirror in an interview on October 23.
Hilomen, the project manager of SMARTSeasPH, an expert in marine biology and who is listed in the roster of Philippine experts for the coastal and marine ecosystems of the DENR, said they discourage coral transplantation or gardening because of the cost and potential adverse environmental impact.
“We discourage coral transplantation also because of the very high mortality. There are only one coral species that is sturdy, but we discourage its transplantation because it might lead to imbalance, like in monocropping,” he said.
Plan, advice of experts needed
Coral transplantation and propagation, he said, needs to be planned carefully and with the advice of experts.
The project, Ocampo later learned, is part of a “coral-monument project” with no mention whether it was meant to be a coral farm or a coral nursery.
There was also a claim from the dive professional who helped JCI that the coral heads were “rescued from a shallow area, where they were carried by waves due to the strong waves, and the marker was placed there to easily identify and locate the area.”
“Because of the attention given to the Facebook post and the involvement of JCI members, its national president Rix Rafols stepped in and requested for a meeting on October 1 to discuss the matter,” Ocampo said. During the meeting, several agreements were reached.
Recognizing that the place threatens the survival of the coral heads, JCI will ensure they will be transferred to another site.
As an interim measure to ensure the corals are not smothered by silt, JCI will take measures and consult scientists and experts on how this can be done.
Ocampo and his friends suggested other ways to contribute to ocean protection—such as deploying buoys for boats so coral breakage from anchoring will be avoided and helping in the campaign against illegal and destructive fishing.
However, Ocampo said the story did not end there.
“After the meeting, the same dive professional posted on Facebook, making it appear that the corals are alive and well, and that this is the best way to deal with rescued corals for a coral farm/nursery,” he said.
JCI’s response
Sought for comment, JCI allowed a member of its diver group, Leo Veses, to reply for the group. Veses explained that the JCI Parañaque Pambato project, called “The Coral Monument: Save Our Oceans Program,” was implemented on August 11 and commenced a series of programs that are dedicated to making the marine ecosystem better and healthier.
The total area of the project site is 2 meters by 2 meters, including the coral marker and the coral fragments area. The coral fragments were covered by around a dozen coral heads.
“The program began with underwater and coastal cleanups, a coral rescue and propagation, a forum on how to clean up after our oceans, and the installation of our JCI coral marker,” he told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview on October 27.
“We did it out of our concern for the environment. We are just trying to make things better. JCI is committed to helping our fellowmen. For this project, we even shell out money from our own pockets to make this happen,” he said.
Veses explained that the marker is a symbol for the future JCI generations “of our desire to help and to make an impact on the well-being of the oceans.”
“It is also envisioned that it will be turned into a coral-reef site,” he said.
Nevertheless, he said the corals used in the “coral-rescue program” were rescued coral heads that were picked up from the shoreline.
“The intention was to revive them through coral propagation,” he said.
According to Veses, the JCI team was assisted by the Philippine Coast Guard and some dive professionals.
“Unfortunately, while transporting the coral marker, a rope snapped, causing the marker to fall on a sandy shoal. It was never the destination of the structure. To add to the difficulties, the supertyphoon was already occurring and the Coast Guard deemed it unsafe to continue. The team did not have a choice but to leave the rescued corals beside the marker in the meantime until the weather clears up,” he explained.
Weeks later, Veses said the team was notified about the state of the corals, referring to Ocampo’s group, prompting JCI to initiate corrective measures.
“It was decided that the JCI team will come back to the site immediately, create a temporary solution by adding layers of rocks that would serve as a temporary bed for the corals while consulting the help of experts in fixing the situation,” he said.
According to Veses, JCI and Ocampo’s camp also agreed to help one another on advocacies that are important to the ocean; that coral experts and scientists should be consulted to determine the best course of action to reduce the possibility of other untoward incidents.
Meanwhile, Veses said they have also met with the international group, Reefcheck. Their team joined Reefcheck’s coral conservation forum, and dove with them to learn more about the seas, their group and their advocacy.
“The JCI team learned to be more vigilant on the steps to revive the corals. Right now, there is an open line with Reefcheck. They assured [JCI] that they will help and are in the process of finding a better solution to protect the coral heads,” he said.
Veses said JCI appreciates the support and advocacy of Reefcheck.
“It also strengthened the JCI commitment to help in the advocacy of maintaining the well-being of the corals in the country. Rest assured that JCI will keep up to its promise to help heal the marine sanctuary and activate more mindful projects. The progress will be constantly shared with the public as part of the organization’s social responsibility. Please accept its gratitude to organizations and people who help them be better,” he said.
According to Ocampo, since JCI is now tapping Reefcheck to institute corrective measure, he expressed “hope they will learn their lesson well from all this,” he told the BusinessMirror.
Ocampo said there is a need for an expert opinion to provide guidance on what steps are needed to ensure the survival of the coral heads, as well as others that will be “rescued” to avoid future projects that may be doing more harm than good to the marine ecosystem.
Image credits: Gregg Yan, Best Alternatives Campaign