MALAMPAYA CONSERVATION SITES IN ORIENTAL MINDORO SWEEP STAR MPA AWARDS

November 17, 2021

Calapan, Oriental Mindoro—Malampaya Foundation Inc.’s (MFI’s) partner conservation sites in Oriental Mindoro claimed nine (9) out of the Top 10 BEST-MANAGED Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and three (3) out of four (4) SUSTAINED MPAs awards at the recent province-wide STAR (Sustaining MPAs through Awards and Recognitions) AWARDS of Oriental Mindoro.

MFI has been in conservation agreements since 2013-2014 with the communities and local governments of the MPA sites and has implemented grassroots conservation actions to establish new or expand existing MPAs, improve MPA management, enhance community-based enforcement, rehabilitated coastal ecosystems, conduct regular habitat and wildlife monitoring, conduct regular education drive with youths, provide supplemental livelihoods in the form of enterprise development and employment generation, among others. The partnerships resulted to recovery of biophysical indicators such as habitat regeneration and fish abundance as early as three (3) years of direct conservation inputs and actions by all partners.

‍

MFI conservation sites awarded are the following--

BEST-MANAGED MPAs:

1st - Maasin Marine Protected Area (Bulalacao)

2nd- Punta Ilag Fish Sanctuary (San Teodoro)

3rd- Sta. Theresa Fish Sanctuary (Gloria)

4th- Banilad-Simborio Fish Sanctuary (Pinamalayan)

5th- Pili Fish Sanctuary (Pinamalayan)

6th- Baco Marine Protected Area (Baco)

8th- Song of the Sea Fish Sanctuary (Pola)

9th- Stella Mariz Fish Sanctuary (Pola)

10th- Puerto Galera Mangrove Conservation and Ecotourism Area (Puerto Galera)