Post by admin on Jun 7, 2014 2:34:19 GMT 8
More concerted efforts urged to protect nation’s coral reefs
Phoebe Jen Indino
June 4, 2014
Mandaue City, Cebu – Amid the continuing threats of overfishing, pollution, and climate change impacts, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 is pushing for more concerted actions to save the reefs in the region known as the Coral Triangle.
“Our DENR Secretary Ramon JP Paje indicated that while the Philippines had already taken important steps to protect its own reefs and the marine life they host, more needs to be done in developing sustainable solutions for the threatened reefs in the Coral Triangle, a global hotspot of marine biodiversity,” said DENR 7 Regional Executive Director Dr. Isabelo R. Montejo.
The Philippines, being at the apex of the Coral Triangle, is a partner-nation of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF). The triangle also covers the exclusive economic zones of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.
The CTI-CFF is a multilateral cooperation among six member-countries to safeguard the Coral Triangle, which is home to more than one-third of the world’s coral reefs, including over 600 different species of reef-building coral and 3,000 species of reef fish.
“As the apex of the Coral Triangle or the world’s center of marine biodiversity is the Philippines. We are one of the 18 mega-diverse countries that contain 75 percent of the global biodiversity. And yet, we too are one of the hottest of the marine biodiversity hotspots in the world,” Montejo pointed out.
According to a study by the World Resources Institute called “Reefs at Risk,” about 85 percent of the reefs in the Coral Triangle are in peril. It identified that threats to the region come from overfishing, watershed pollution and coastal development.
Source: www.mb.com.ph/more-concerted-efforts-urged-to-protect-nations-coral-reefs/
Phoebe Jen Indino
June 4, 2014
Mandaue City, Cebu – Amid the continuing threats of overfishing, pollution, and climate change impacts, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 is pushing for more concerted actions to save the reefs in the region known as the Coral Triangle.
“Our DENR Secretary Ramon JP Paje indicated that while the Philippines had already taken important steps to protect its own reefs and the marine life they host, more needs to be done in developing sustainable solutions for the threatened reefs in the Coral Triangle, a global hotspot of marine biodiversity,” said DENR 7 Regional Executive Director Dr. Isabelo R. Montejo.
The Philippines, being at the apex of the Coral Triangle, is a partner-nation of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF). The triangle also covers the exclusive economic zones of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.
The CTI-CFF is a multilateral cooperation among six member-countries to safeguard the Coral Triangle, which is home to more than one-third of the world’s coral reefs, including over 600 different species of reef-building coral and 3,000 species of reef fish.
“As the apex of the Coral Triangle or the world’s center of marine biodiversity is the Philippines. We are one of the 18 mega-diverse countries that contain 75 percent of the global biodiversity. And yet, we too are one of the hottest of the marine biodiversity hotspots in the world,” Montejo pointed out.
According to a study by the World Resources Institute called “Reefs at Risk,” about 85 percent of the reefs in the Coral Triangle are in peril. It identified that threats to the region come from overfishing, watershed pollution and coastal development.
Source: www.mb.com.ph/more-concerted-efforts-urged-to-protect-nations-coral-reefs/