National Committee on Marine Sciences (NCMS)
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://repository.unesco.gov.ph/handle/123456789/6
Browse
7 results
Search Results
- Saving biodiversity at Verde Island PassageCinco, Maricar (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2018-10-20)Casting a fishing line with a coral sinker and a plastic-bottle reel, children as young as 8 years old catch their next meal from the pebbled shore of Barangay San Andres here. Most of the women are at home, raising hogs or weaving “buli” (palm) mats, while the men are out at sea to fish for food or collect aquarium fish to sell in Metro Manila. Their houses dot a hillslope, built to withstand the frequent storms. Drinking water comes from deep wells while electricity is supplied by several solar panels. Life is simple and slow in San Andres, a small, poor community on Verde Island along the Verde Island Passage (VIP), a marine and terrestrial zone of rich biological diversity spanning almost 2 hectares and more than 100 kilometers south of Manila. Biologists have discovered a thriving marine ecosystem (1.14 million ha) along the passage in what most people called the “richest place on earth.”
- Addressing climate change thru our youngBorgueta, Sandra Joyce (Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc., 2016-03-30)The drought has caused a heavy loss in the agricultural sector. The DA reported that a total of 134,321 metric tons of crops have been damaged as of March 7, 2016, by the dry spell. This affects an estimated 12 million people, making up 33 percent of the country’s labor force, with almost 70 percent of the rural community working as farmers and fishermen. With that, this year’s World Water Day (March 22), whose theme was “Water and Jobs,” offered an opportune time to call attention to the plight of farmers and fisherfolk who are at risk and severely affected by the long droughts and destructive typhoons.
- Vulnerable ecosystems in Eastern VisayasYap, Julio P. Jr. (Panay News, Inc., 2018-10-08)Biodiversity is an important factor in improving our ecosystem because each species of plants or animals, no matter how small, all have an important role to play. It is often used to measure the health of biological systems, and to determine whether there is a danger that too many species have become extinct. Because of its significance, the Philippine Science High School-Eastern Visayas Campus (PHSH-EVC) in Palo, Leyte emphasized the importance of preserving biodiversity in the region through the Biodiversity and Vulnerable Ecosystems Research (BiVER) Program.
- Zamboanga stakes claim as RP’s top seaweed producer(Philippine Star Printing Co., Inc., 2008-03-23)In the face of declining seaweed harvests in the country’s traditional major seaweed production centers, the regional office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Region IX has taken bold steps to intensify seaweed culture in the whole Zamboanga Peninsula. “The objectives,” says BFAR Region IX director Virgilio Alforque, “are to help stabilize seaweed supply in the country, enable seaweed processors to operate at higher capacity and, most importantly, make it possible for Zamboanga’s seaweed farmers to take advantage of prevailing high prices.” Fortunately, a new research by SEAFDEC researchers Anicia Hurtado and Renato Agbayani has shown that deep water (more than 10 meters deep) farming of the seaweeds Kappaphycus is possible and very profitable just like the other methods in shallower waters. This method in deeper waters is commonly called alul.
- Aquaculture touted as food security measureConserva, Louine Hope (BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation, 2015-10-05)Developing more aquatic farms for the cultivation of fish and water plants could provide a boost to food security while curbing illegal fishing, said officials at the ongoing Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings on Food Security and Blue Economy. Dr. Felix G. Ayson, chief of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center-Aquaculture Department based in Tigbuan, Iloilo said the region will have to increase aquaculture production to keep up with future demand. “My projection is that for us to provide food for the population, we need to increase our aquaculture production by 30% within 25 years,” Mr. Ayson said in a news conference.
- DENR seeking sites for seaweed farmingKritz, Ben (The Manila Times Publishing Corporation, 2016-12-08)The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is seeking areas where local production of seaweed can either be started or increased, both as a livelihood measure for coastal communities and as an effective measure against the impacts of climate change. Research in recent years has found that many varieties of seaweed, including types that are commercially farmed in the Philippines and other countries, have unique characteristics that give them carbon sequestration abilities. DENR Secretary Gina Lopez told reporters and seaweed farming stakeholders in a roundtable discussion last week at the training center of the Biodiversity Management Bureau in Quezon City that the DENR has started identifying potential sites for seaweed farming in the country, with the help of other government agencies and local residents.
- Reef Alert(Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc., 2016-10-09)There is no way attention will be directed at the crying urgency of protecting the coral reefs unless we belabor the issue and repeat ourselves. At the rate coral reefs are being destroyed by human activity or damaged by bleaching due to global warming, it won’t be long before these “colorful gardens under the sea where marine life thrives” die off, never to be appreciated by future generations. Indeed, though the Philippines is “the richest place on earth” in terms of biodiversity, according to scientist Wilfredo Licuanan, he has warned that because of climate change, “we can lose our corals in a matter of weeks, not years.”