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03. Science and Technology (Natural Sciences) Committee

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://repository.unesco.gov.ph/handle/123456789/3

In creating a culture of peace and addressing sustainable development challenges, UNESCO aims to cultivate the generation and application of scientific knowledge among its Member States. At UNACOM, we facilitate access to UNESCO’s international programmes in the sciences, such as the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, and International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme (IGGP), among others.

Through this sector, the Commission aims to contribute to the following SDGs: 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 13 - Climate Action, 14 - Life Below Water, and 15 - Life On Land. With the overarching vision of the 2023-2028 Philippine Development Plan (PDP), UNACOM targets grassroots-inspired cultural heritage and biodiversity protection and conservation, as well as multi-stakeholder partnerships for SDGs promotion.

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    Fish and benthic communities in an offshore and well-managed coral reef after bleaching disturbance in the Philippines
    Quimpo, Timothy Joseph R.; Requilme, Jeremiah Noelle; Gomez, Elizabeth; Sayco, Sherry Lyn; Dumalagan, Edwin E.; Siringan, Fernando P.; Conaco, Cecilia; Cabaitan, Patrick C. (Springer, 2023-08-29)
    Climate change is perhaps the greatest threat to coral reefs worldwide. However, there is spatial variation in the extent and severity of this disturbance, with offshore and well-managed reefs presumed to be less vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance. Here, fish and benthic communities at the offshore and well-managed reefs of Apo Reef Natural Park, Philippines, were examined during a bleaching disturbance in 2016 and reassessed 2 (2018) and 3 years (2019) after using scuba surveys. Results showed that benthic communities varied more strongly with year attributed to changes in the benthic cover of coral. These changes were influenced by site, with some sites experiencing coral loss of 41–48%, while other sites exhibited minimal changes. Site differences in coral loss may be associated with coral cover, with sites that had high coral cover prior to bleaching incurring larger loss of coral cover. Fish communities varied more with sites and was associated with differences in the predominant benthos. The stability of fish communities with year despite coral loss may be attributed to the minimal loss of coral cover at some sites. For sites that experienced high losses of coral cover, the presence of alternative and deeper habitats may have provided shelter and food for more mobile fishes maintaining taxonomic composition within sites. This study shows that bleaching disturbance circumvents effective management, but impacts are variable even at small (≤ 3 km) spatial scales. Benthic community composition and presence of alternative habitats potentially alleviate the negative impacts of bleaching on reef fish diversity and abundance.
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    Natural and anthropogenic climate variability sgnals in a 237-year-long coral record from the Philippines
    Inoue, Mayuri; Fukushima, A.; Chihara, M.; Genda, A.; Ikehara, Minoru; Okai, T.; Kawahata, Hodaka; Siringan, F. P.; Suzuki, Atsushi (American Geophysical Union, 2023-11-29)
    Both proxy and model studies conducted to understand anthropogenic warming have revealed historical variations in sea-surface temperature (SST) since the industrial revolution. However, because of discrepancies between observations and models in the late nineteenth century, the timing and degree of anthropogenic warming remain unclear. In this study, we reconstructed a 237-year-long record of SST and salinity using a coral core collected from Bicol, southern Luzon, Philippines, which is located at the northern edge of the western Pacific warm pool. The SST record showed volcanic cooling after several volcanic eruptions, including the 1815 Tambora eruption, but the pattern of change differed. Decadal SST variations at Bicol are connected to Pacific Decadal Variability (PDV). Therefore, it is suggested that the PDV conditions at the time of the eruption may have influenced marine conditions, such as the degree and duration of cooling and/or salinity, after the eruptions. Although there were discrepancies in SST variations among the modeled, observed, and proxy SST data from the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, SST data from the late twentieth century showed globally coherent anthropogenic warming, especially after 1976. In particular, summer SST in the northwestern Pacific has become more sensitive to anthropogenic forcing since 1976.