Ecology groups to push Danajon reef protection

Efforts to preserve and eventually “nurse Danajon reef back to health” should begin “as soon as possible,” a marine conservationist said.

Rose Liza Eisma Osorio, executive director of the Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation (CCEF), said about 77 percent of the Danajon reef is already damaged.

“Many people are depending on Danajon reef for their livelihood. We want to incorporate livelihood and preservation of the marine ecosystem in the area,” Osorio told reporters in an interview.

The CCEF, which advocates sustainable coastal resource management, held the first Danajon Bank Summit in Cebu City last week.

The program is funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Osorio said the summit—attended by local government leaders, marine conservation advocate and environment stakeholders—wants to reach a collective action and consensus to restore Danajon’s lush marine biodiversity.

The Danajon bank or double-barrier reef, located off northern Bohol Island, is the only double-barrier reef in the Philippines.

The reef is spread across nearly 130 kilometers and consists of three large reefs. The reefs run along the coastal areas of Bohol, Cebu and Leyte and is composed of 19 towns.

The Danajon bank’s overall area is 272 square kilometers with an aggregate coastline of 699 kilometers, including 40 islands.

Osorio said based on their initial study, 4,000 fisherfolk are also dependent on Danajon reef for livelihood.

She said illegal fishing and coral poaching remain rampant in the area.

Pollution caused by the improper disposal of domestic wastes of the coastal communities is compounded by the dumping of oil and garbage by passing vessels.

Osorio said they will set a timetable in achieving their goals for the conservation effort.

The Danajon double-barrier reef is the only one in the country and among the six worldwide that has a geological formation that carved 6,000 years of natural coral growth, Osorio said.

She said commercially valuable reef fishes, shellfish, crustaceans and invertebrates such as sea cucumbers and sea urchins thrive in the area. /Candeze R. Mongaya, Reporter