The Philippines is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that is located within the Coral Triangle. Of these countries, the Philippines host a relatively large number of marine protected areas. Marine protected areas mainly prohibit fishing and the use of natural resources as an effort to conserve biodiversity and promote a sustainable management style that should provide for future generations. The problem that arises from the creation of MPAs falls onto the local fisherman who have been fishing in the same areas for decades without interruption. The biggest factors exacerbating these barriers were the recent global economic problems that came with the COVID-19 crisis and the environmental pressure that comes with global climate change.
For my Capstone Project, I want to focus on the community side of the science and how our NGO (Marine Conservation Philippines), local fishermen, and the local government work together to make progress. This past Thursday we participated in a beach/underwater cleanup with the local fisherman organization. After the cleanup we had a boodle fight, (as seen in the picture).
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