Seagrass and seaweed bed establishment: an option in mitigating coastal degradation in the Philippines

Abstract

Much of inhabited coastal zones of the Philippines are threatened by overexploitation of resources, pollution and reclamation of shallow habitats. The absence of good management practices inadvertently destroys most of shallow water habitats including seagrass and seaweed beds in this more than 7, 100-island archipelago. World Resources Institute reported in 1998 that practically all of Philippine coral reefs, where seaweed and seagrass beds are part of the complex, are classified as highly threatened. While the country has one of the most diverse seagrass (about 16 species) and seaweed flora than anywhere else in the world, there are indications that anthropogenic pressures have contributed to their gradual destruction, hence to the depletion of marine resources associated with them either directly or indirectly.
Seaweed bed construction is a new idea in the Philippines with only pilot studies, so far, recently being undertaken. On the other hand, seagrass transplantation has been implemented, especially in perturbed areas, for more than two decades now. However a national program using these activities as a bioremediation measure is yet to develop. The complementary contribution of seaweed and seagrass beds, established or otherwise, are expected to increase marine coastal productivity in the Philippines.