Coral Cay Conservation

Mission Statement: Using best science we will support the preservation of coral reefs and through learning and education support the dependent communities, in the most cost-effective means possible. Coral Cay initiates projects on the invitation of host country governments and currently run projects in the Philippines, Tobago and in Cambodia. See the Coral Cay website for further details including past and current project reports. Coral Cay has been running terrestrial and marine conservation projects in the Philippines since 1995. A notable success has been the establishment of the ‘Danjugan Island Marine Reserve’ in 1998. In 2002, Coral Cay moved to Southern Leyte on the invitation of the governor at the time. The project aims to gather comprehensive baseline data on the current marine resources in Sogod Bay, an area renowned for its high marine biodiversity and abundance of mega-fauna such as Whale Sharks, Manta Rays, dolphins and whales. In addition to the scientific monitoring work, the project also provides community capacity and educational programmes to a wide variety of stakeholders. In 2005, work commenced to develop a network of community-led MPAs throughout the bay. This project has led to the successful implementation of 14 MPAs with more being developed. At the moment the project is focusing its attention on assisting local communities on Panaon Island, Southern Leyte, with sustainable fisheries management and coral reef conservation. This work includes a community educational and awareness raising campaign, socio-economic assessments, fish catch monitoring and various scholarship opportunities for Barangay Captains, MPA wardens and other local stakeholders.