A very important issue in programs dealing with the conservation of Philippine marine resources is the question of how fast degraded marine biodiversity can recover. A related question is how this recovery can be speeded up. Our research program at Silliman University on coral reefs and fish beginning in the 1970s throws some light on these questions. Answers to these questions, however limited, are useful in development programs that are now being pursued by government such as the present Integrated Coastal Resources Management Project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
First of all, our coral reef survey in the decade of the 1970s with the University of the Philippines already indicated that in general coral reefs tended to recover very slowly. In the 1980s, studies on specific species of hard corals showed very slow growth rates as measured by how much area of the sea bottom is covered within a period of one year. We found that branching corals tended to grow faster than massive species at a rate of 5-10% and massive corals at hardly 1% per year. These results seem to be comparable with those reported from other areas of the tropical world.
The conditions supporting these rates of growth are good marine water quality, that is, low nutrients and absence of solid particles in water such as silt. In coastal areas with high concentrations of nutrients from land sources and freshwater input, practically all of the branching species have disappeared, leaving mostly massive species.
Overall, in large areas of coral reefs, the annual growth (or increase in live coral cover) was practically zero in marine waters off western Mindanao. The major factor implicated in these very slow rates was the combination of siltation and sedimentation. It could be that there were minute increases not detected by the methods used in the survey.
In contrast, our study of a Cebu reef that was devastated by a typhoon in the early 1980s showed good growth of about 5-10% of mostly branching corals in one year. This reef had good-quality water free of sediments flowing through Tañon Strait.
In terms of the recovery of fish in reefs, our long term data (10-20 years) published in several scientific papers show that in fully protected areas (MPAs), biomass of target (food) species of fish can increase annually by about 10%, provided water quality is good (no pollutants) and reef areas are fully protected from fishing. These are the two conditions that must be present in protected areas. Our conclusion in these studies is that fish recovery in terms of species richness, abundance and biomass can be expected in the long term provided MPAs are fully protected and water quality remains good.
For integrated coastal management to be successful, MPAs must be protected and managed by local communities (POs, NGOs, LGUs) through a system of co-management that is agreed upon by these primary stakeholders. Government agencies such as Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Department of Environment, academic institutions etc. should act in a supportive role.
The co-management agreement must be implemented strictly without exception. For this to happen in this country, an overseeing body consisting of people with high integrity and unquestioned commitment to conservation should be created to see to it that MPAs are managed and protected according the rules. Only then can programs like the ICRMP succeed in attaining the goal of conservation and improved incomes of coastal communities.