The coral reef ecosystem in the Philippines is one of the most diverse in the world. The world’s most diverse shallow-water marine area is located between the Philippines, Indonesia, and northeast Australia.

The marine life in coral reefs is comprised of hundred and millions of hard and soft corals, fishes, sponges, starfishes, crustaceans, snails, sea grasses, seaweeds, and hundreds more. Many marine species are still unknown to science, and many more are yet to be discovered.

The Philippines is among the six countries (i.e., Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste) that comprise the Coral Triangle Region – the home to the richest marine life on earth. Within the Philippines, the Verde Island Passage (located between Batangas and Oriental Mindoro) is considered the world’s “center of the center” of marine fishes and other marine life.

In terms of coral species, the Philippines has the largest recorded number. The Philippine corals, consisting of at least 430 species in more than 70 genera, represent about 50% of the coral species in the world. In 2005, scientists using Global Information System (GIS) assessed the distribution of marine life in the Indo-Malay-Philippine Archipelago (the area of highest marine diversity) and discovered that the Philippines has higher concentration of marine species per unit area than anywhere in Indonesia.

In terms of reef and reef-associated fishes in the Philippines (e.g. anemone fish, clownfish, sharks, ray fish), the estimated diversity represents more than 60% of the total worldwide. As of 2012, the global database system known as “Fishbase” reports a total of 1,770 reef-associated fishes in the country. Coral reefs provide numerous benefits to humans.

The reef fishery in the Indo-Pacific region can yield up to 25% of the total fish catch. It was estimated that if at least 1 km2 of coral reef is maintained in a healthy condition, about 15 tons of food will be produced, enough to feed 1,000 people every year.

Dr. Angel Alcala of Siliman University reported that coral reef fisheries contribute almost US$1 billion annually to the Philippine economy and can provide livelihoods to more than 1 million small-scale fishers.

Non-fish resources (e.g. corals, sponges, sea cucumbers, starfish) benefit humans in the fields of medicine, education, science, culture, and tourism.

What are the threats to coral reefs?

The United Nations Environment Programmed reports that 58% of the world’s coral reefs and 80% of the most diverse coral reefs in Southeast Asia are threatened by coastal development and fishing pressure. With increasing population growth and weak regulatory measures to conserve coral reefs, it is predicted that most of the coral reef areas in Southeast Asia will be gone within the next 40 years.

In the Philippines, the serious causes of the degradation of coral reefs are sedimentation, pollution, over-fishing, and coral mining. Other threats include unregulated coastal development and reclamation of foreshore areas for tourist resorts, roads, and ports. Marine scientists found that coastal runoff and sedimentation (resulting from soil erosion) have detrimental impact on the reproductive success of corals.