Abstract
Participatory marine protected area monitoring has evolved over the years. The increase in the number of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Philippines in the last decade alone has prompted the utilization of methodologies that improve accuracy and decrease bottom-time for SCUBA divers. Standardization of results aside from improving participatory approaches for non-technical personnel has been given emphasis in the Philippines. There are over 1,169 MPAs with varying degrees of benthos and reef fish monitoring data. This sheer number of MPAs highlights the importance of sustained and participatory monitoring. Haribon Foundation has been conducting participatory monitoring of MPAs in Lanuza Bay in Southeastern Philippines in partnership with local government units and community-based organizations. Through the funding support of several projects so far nine MPAs have been monitored since 2002. Results showed that there was no significant increase or decrease in the live coral cover of the MPAs in Lanuza and Cortes from 2002 to 2009 (p<0.05). Average hard coral cover of the nine (9) MPAs varied from 41.25% to 57.58%, and reef fish abundance ranged from 3,835 to 10,938 individuals per hectare. Current participatory monitoring methods may need improvements to provide a more accurate picture of the MPAs in Lanuza Bay. Some of the recommendations include increasing the number of transects per MPA, choosing a more accurate representative of the MPA and using phototransect method, making a composite team composed of representatives from community-based organizations, keeping technical persons at least one from the local government, and the institutionalization of the monitoring activity at the local government unit level.
