Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (SLCRCP) Is Community Work a Collaborative Project to Survey the Coral Reefs of Sogod Bay
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Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (SLCRCP) Monthly Project Update September 2012 Location: Napantao Dive Resort, Napantao, San Francisco, Southern Leyte Project Scientist: Bernie Burczak SLRCP Project Aim Contents Story of the Month The Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (SLCRCP) is Community Work a collaborative project to survey the coral reefs of Sogod Bay. The programme provides training and conservation education Education opportunities for local Filipinos, as part of an integrated programme to develop local capacity and ensure the long-term Survey Update protection and sustainable use of marine resources throughout Marine Creature of the the region. Coral Cay Conservation (CCC) provides the resources to help sustain livelihoods and alleviate poverty through the month protection restoration and management of local coral reefs and tropical forests. “I have learnt so much from the Skills Development Programme, it completely changed my outlook on coral reefs and has increased my passion and love for diving and reef conservation.” - Chris Buckner, Long Term Volunteer Story of the Month Visayas State University Field Course CCC were happy to welcome marine biology students from the Visayas State University (VSU), who visited our base in Napantao for a field trip this month. Over a weekend the students were lectured on different types of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), as well as the challenges facing effective management and potential solutions to these. Staff and students from VSU with Project Scientist Bernie Burczak upon completion of the field course. Southern Leyte Reef Conservation Project Philippines, September, 2012 Other topics such as the ecology of mangroves, intertidal habitats and various survey techniques were also taught and discussed over the course. The trip was deemed a huge success by staff and students alike, with everyone learning a considerable amount and having fun whilst doing so. Some of the highlights included role playing exercises involving the governance of MPAs, where students were divided into either “fisherman”, “environmental groups” or “local government units”. Students were then able to gain an insight into the views of different stakeholders involved in marine resource management. Southern Leyte State University Culture Course This month CCC staff and volunteers participated in a culture course with Southern Leyte State University (SLSU) Hotel and Resorts Management Department students. Not only was this a great day out for the CCC team but it was an excellent opportunity to learn a lot more about typical Filipino life and culture. Language, traditions, national heroes, food and fiestas were just some of the topics covered throughout the course of Students from SLSU demonstrating a traditional dance the day. To keep the volunteers on of the Philippines. their toes they were given short pop quizzes on what they had learnt and joined in with singing and traditional dancing much to the SLSU students delight. It was a hugely successful day out with everyone learning a lot about the each other’s traditions and cultures and a great opportunity for the volunteers to see more of the Philippines above rather than below the water! Community Work Philippines Councillors Week 2012 Coastal Clean-up in Napantao Council members from the San Francisco municipality joined forces with CCC staff and volunteers for the day to carry out a beach clean-up along Napantao beach. Arriving bright and early everyone got down to work on the beach, combing it for rubbish of all shapes and sizes with great enthusiasm. CCC staff and volunteers with San Francisco Council and Some volunteers even made a community members preparing to carry out a beach clean. game out of the activity offering Southern Leyte Reef Conservation Project Philippines, September, 2012 a prize to the person who found two matching washed up flip-flops! After just under an hour six rice sacks had been filled with rubbish that had washed up on to the beach, highlighting to everyone involved just how important this task is. Following the beach clean, council members and volunteers were given a talk CCC’s Project Scientist and Field Base Manager Rob King about the MPA at Napantao. Education CCC’s Project Scientist and Education Officer Kurtis Hayne joined primary and secondary students from around Southern Leyte for a Science Fair at the Department of Education in Maasin. They presented their projects as scientific posters and did an excellent job of explaining some very sophisticated science, covering topics such as organic chemistry, thermodynamics and electronic circuitry. Their innovation was very impressive in finding ways to use garbage or non-usable items to construct novel items such as roof tiles strengthened with shredded plastic bags or lamp oil made from taro* leaves. Some other highlights included a student from Pintuyan who constructed working CCC’s Education Officer and Project fuses out of bamboo and aluminium foil and Scientist with one of the students who delicious homemade ice cream made with mastered electronic circuits with extracts of a local fruit instead of milk. nothing but bamboo and aluminium foil. [*Taro is a plant native to Southeast Asia which is usually grown as a root vegetable] Survey Update Survey background: Our baseline-surveying programme is designed to gather data about the biological and morphological standing of Sogod Bay. This data is combined with information on human and natural impacts on the reefs, along with oceanographic data, to ultimately produce a Geographical Information System ‘map’ of the various habitats of the bay. It is like a ‘stock-take’ of the current marine resources, which is being produced to provide policymakers and concerned institutions with information necessary to effectively manage those resources. To date the northern end of Sogod Bay has been surveyed and the remainder of the project will concentrate on the south including Panaon Island and Limasawa Island. If you would like more information on our surveying please contact our Project Scientist. So far, in 2012, CCC volunteers have been conducting surveys of the reefs throughout the municipalities of Pintuyan, Liloan and Limasawa on the eastern coastline of Sogod Bay. The work has focused around the monitoring of existing no-take MPAs inside and Southern Leyte Reef Conservation Project Philippines, September, 2012 outside the protected zone in order to assess their effectiveness in terms of protecting reefs as well as the replenishment of fish stocks. Baseline surveys have also been conducted to provide the data necessary to initiate further protection of the delicate reef ecosystem. This month, the team have continued conducting baseline surveys on the Pacific side of Panaon Island, just south of the Barangay of Anilao where they have made great progress and hope to finish soon. As well as this, the annual survey of Napantao MPA has also been carried out in order to establish how the no-take zone is affecting fish abundance and diversity within the reserve. Marine Creature of the Month! This month’s creature is the highly camouflaged Solenostomus cyanopterus, a Robust Ghost Pipefish usually found in weedy beds or seagrass. These fish are carnivorous and feed by sucking tiny crustaceans in to their mouths. Unlike other pipefish where the male will carry eggs in a sack attached to an external abdominal pouch, within the ghost pipefish family the female will store the eggs in a pouch formed by an elongated pelvic fin. Learn More! To learn more about the CCC Philippines project, to join the expedition, or to find out about local Marine Scholarships, visit www.coralcay.org. .