Investing in the Philippines’ marine environment

As I have traveled around the Philippines, from Palawan to Bohol to Surigao, I have seen the magnificent beauty of Philippine seas firsthand. The Philippines boasts one of the most diverse marine environments in the world, with beautiful colorful corals and magnificent fish, turtles and sting rays. Marine scientists refer to the Philippines as the “center of the center” of aquatic biodiversity; it has more marine species per unit area than anywhere on earth.

But, like many of the world’s oceans, the Philippine seas are under threat; from climate change, pollution and over exploitation.

The theme of this year’s Earth Day is “invest in our planet.” Given the challenges faced by Philippine seas, Australia is investing in protecting the Philippines’ unique and stunning marine environment.

Australia and the Philippines have a long-standing partnership in protecting the marine environment. We continue to support the Philippines to develop marine resources sustainably and increase civil-maritime capabilities.

In 1983, Australia funded its first research project in the Philippines on the production of giant clams in Bolinao, Pangasinan. This project helped establish giant clam nursery hatcheries for the restocking of reefs. Three decades later, this joint research by Australian and Filipino marine scientists has seen over 70,000 giant clams restored on coral reefs in the Philippines.

Since 2015, Australia has financed a large-scale coral reef restoration project in Pangasinan using innovative techniques. Australian and Filipino scientists have worked together to restore coral reefs the size of Olympic swimming pools, which have led to increased fish stocks. These outcomes have attracted global interest and inspired related research on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Australia also funds a coral reef restoration and coral reef management training project in a marine protected area near Iba in Zambales.

To complement our coral reef restoration investments, Australia supports a community engagement project designed to identify gaps in coral reef management and develop new strategies to protect reef sustainability. This project is being implemented in Pangasinan, Cebu, Palawan and the Verde Island Passage.

Australia is engaging with the Philippines on establishing an authoritative geography of the Philippines’ marine environment and coral reef monitoring, data collection and analysis.

Australia is also investing in people here in the Philippines. This is the key to ensuring the sustainability of marine ecosystems into the future.

Our ‘Australia Awards’ scholarships program support Filipinos to undertake a master’s level course at an Australian university. One focus area for the scholarships is maritime, including courses in maritime policy, maritime law, marine environment and marine science. I encourage interested applicants to apply for these marvellous and life changing opportunities!

We also provide the Philippines with law of the sea training. Ensuring the law of the sea is respected is key to protecting Philippine seas. Moreover, we invest in fellowships which have further strengthened the professional capacity and knowledge of researchers in the agriculture sector, including in fisheries and marine sciences.

Over the years we have seen how the new skills acquired by our Filipino alumni, and their collaboration with Australian counterparts, have resulted in so many positive marine environment projects. For example, Australia Awards alumni Dr. Rene Abesamis told me about his studies in marine sciences at Australia’s James Cook University, and how he used his new knowledge to combat declining fish stocks and advise on the design and location of marine protected areas in the Philippines.

On the topic of fish stocks, Australia is supporting the Philippines to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUUF), which causes extensive damage to the Philippines’ marine environment and fish numbers, which many Filipinos rely on for their livelihood. Australia will support the Philippines to combat IUUF by providing training, regional fisheries officer exchanges and targeted capacity building.

We are also investing in training and vessel sustainment for Philippine civil-maritime agencies to support them in enforcing the Philippines’ maritime laws.

Australia, like the Philippines, is a maritime nation. Both countries have some of the largest and most magnificent coastlines in the world. On this World Earth Day, and with the challenges the marine environment is facing, there has never been a more important time for Australia to invest in working with our Philippine partners to protect our precious aquatic ecosystems.

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Steven J. Robinson AO is the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines. Follow him on Twitter @AusAmbPH.