Member Type Country

Philippines

Details

Contact

Marcial C. Amaro, JR.
Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, in concurrent capacity as OIC Director
Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB)
Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Jhorace E. Tupas
Senior Ecosystems Management Specialist
Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Management Section
BMB-Coastal and Marine Division
Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Background Information

Surface of Coral Reefs: 27000 km2

The Philippines is one of the 8 founding countries of ICRI.

World Heritage Sites

Sites with Coral Reefs: 1

Ramsar Sites

Sites with Coral Reefs: 1

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is a 97,030-hectare Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Palawan, the westernmost Philippine province. It is located 150km southeast of Puerto Princesa City, at the heart of the Coral Triangle, the global centre of marine biodiversity. Tubbataha is composed of two huge coral atolls – the north atoll and the south atoll – and the Jessie Beazley Reef, a smaller coral structure about 20 kilometres north of the atolls.

The park contains roughly 10,000 hectares of coral reef. Scientists have been visiting these reefs since the 1980s, and their research has shown that Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is home to no less than:

  • 600 species of fish
  • 360 species of corals (about half of all coral species in the world)
  • 11 species of sharks
  • 13 species of dolphins & whales
  • 100 species of birds
  • nesting site of Hawksbill & Green sea turtles.

Tubbataha is a strictly ‘no-take’ zone and is the largest marine protected area (MPA) in the Philippines. For more information, go to: http://www.tubbatahareef.org

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is a Ramsar Site and also a World Heritage Site.

Last Updated: 19 June 2024