Spill-Over Effects Of A Community-Based Marine Protected Area: The Case Of The Danjugan Island Marine Reserves And Sanctuaries

Abstract

The Philippine Reef and Rainforest Project (PRRP) began in 1995 as a collaborative project between the Philippine-based NGO, the Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation Inc. (PRRCFI), and the UK-based NGO, Coral Cay Conservation (CCC). The initial aims of the project were to gather information on the natural resources of Danjugan Island, facilitate training in scientific survey techniques and eco-tourism related professions, and to provide comprehensive coral reef education to schools and local communities. The results of scientific surveys carried out by CCC volunteers and PRRCFI staff between 1995 and 1999 led to the establishment of the Danjugan Island Marine Reserve and Sanctuaries (DIMRS) as a statutory marine reserve under the Philippine provincial law in February 2000. Interest in the reserve has filtered through to communities beyond Danjugan and the work expanded to mainland Negros to survey two further municipalities through another project, the Southern Negros Coastal Development Project (SNCDP), between 1998 and 2001. The positive influence of the DIMRS has led local barangays to develop their own voluntary marine reserves with the technical assistance of PRRCFI staff. Dive surveys in southern municipalities between 1998 and 2001 have provided information on four more proposed marine reserves. Effective long-term community-based education and training, coupled with the provision of alternative livelihood capacity, has resulted in the success of the project near to source, at Danjugan Island, and within the municipality of Cauayan, Negros Occidental as a likely result of limited resources.