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The world’s natural resources are constantly depleting due to the rising demands of human consumption. Humanity consumes more than nature can replenish that is why it is very relevant to protect, conserve, and manage the remaining natural resources for the present and future generations.
The Philippines is the center of the Coral Triangle Corridor, which is the world's center for marine biodiversity, making the protection and conservation of its natural resources extremely important. One of the largest marine protected areas in the Philippines, the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape, is susceptible to challenges from both human-induced activities and global climate change.
The Tañon Strait Protected Seascape - Protected Area Management Office conducts baseline biophysical assessments of the marine resources to address the issue of marine ecosystem degradation and to comprehend the current state of the underwater habitat and its living organisms. The results of the assessment will provide the Local Government Units (LGUs), fisherfolks organizations, line agencies, law enforcement bodies and various stakeholders the current status of different marine habitats in their area of jurisdiction. These serve as bases in crafting management strategies in order to achieve the sustainable use of its marine resources.
The objectives of the Biophysical Assessment are to assess the existing conditions of the marine resources and habitats of Tañon Strait and to provide field verification of the satellite data provided by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA).
The assessment is still on-going and has already reached 66.67% of the progress. The partial result of the assessment validated the existence of 6,351.34 hectares of coral covers at the Category C (Licuanan, 2020) and is estimated to reach up to 8,048 hectares of coral covers. Compared to the satellite data of NAMRIA (2020) which estimated 12,897.84 hectares of coral covers, the validated field data of coral covers is projected to be 37.60% lower than the NAMRIA's data.
The following are the list of coral genera that can be found in TSPS as per the recent Biophysical Assessments.
Mangrove habitat covers from NAMRIA estimates a total of 3,065.63 hectares using satellite data. The validated but partial result of the assessment shows that 2,256.67 hectares of mangrove habitat covers and has also been assessed to be in fair condition. It has also been discovered during this assessment that out of 39 species of mangroves that can be found in the Philippines (Calumpong & Menez, 1998), 22 species can be found in TSPS.. Two of the mangrove species, Aegiceras floridum and Ceriops decandra, are classified by the IUCN as Near Threatened while the Avicennia rumphiana which is also found within the coasts of Tañon Strait is classified by the IUCN as Vulnerable.
The following are the list of mangrove species that can be found in TSPS as per the recent Biophysical Assessments.
The data from NAMRIA for the area of seagrass beds spans to 11,804.17 hectares and during the assessment, the partial validated area of seagrass beds covers 6,229.87 hectares which are also assessed to be in good condition. The assessment also reveals that out of 16 seagrass species that can be found in the Philippines (Fortes, 2015), 12 seagrass species exist in TSPS.
The following are the list of seagrass species that can be found in TSPS as per the recent Biophysical Assessments.
The biophysical assessment of different marine habitats is one of the interventions indicated in the General Management Plan (GMP 2015-2025) of TSPS so that the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) can be guided in their decision making process in order to ensure the effective management, conservation, and protection of the marine resources of Tañon Strait. The data it provides will definitely help in the understanding of the potential value of its natural resources, and will become the solid basis for making policies and regulations that govern the use of marine resources to ensure its sustainable use.
