October 14-18, Puerto Princesa City – The Palawan Council for Sustainable Development together with the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) successfully brought the two-year Marine Resources Initiative Project- Monitoring and Management of Marine Resources (MRI-MMMR) Component to a close through the October 14-18, 2024 workshops. Celebrating the achievements and key milestones reached, the MRI-MMMR Component delivered through the AIMS and PCSD partnership. The workshop brought together project stakeholders, team members, partners, and the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to reflect on the project’s outcomes, share lessons learned, and identify other areas for collaboration in the future.
The project, launched in 2022, aimed to support in-country coral reef monitoring through capability building in the application of AIMS technological solutions in data collection, standardization, analysis, and reporting. Over the course of two years, the project has trained 15 personnel involved in coastal monitoring and assessment, provided 15 field equipment, two (2) units of ReefScan, conducted coral reef assessment in six (6) municipalities, and organized the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) which is composed of six (6) esteemed environmental scientists and managers. The project also conducted two community forum events to present the results of the ReefScan survey to the Local Government Units in Southern and Northern Palawan. Finally, through the project, policy recommendation for coral reef monitoring was developed and presented. During the closing workshop, these achievements were highlighted in presentations and interactive sessions, creating a platform for dialogue and reflection.
PCSD Resolution No. 24-1015 adopted the ReefScan as Coral Reef Monitoring Tool and ReefCloud as Coral Reef Data Processing Platform in the Province of Palawan and the City of Puerto Princesa as an efficient data processing and storage platform.
PCSDS Executive Director Atty. Teodoro Jose S. Matta, MNSA; Mr. Steve Burns of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Dr. Britta Schaffelke and Dr. Manuel Gonzalez-Rivero of the Australian Institute of Marine Science; Dr. Wilfredo Roehl Licuanan of De La Salle University; Dr. Maria Vanessa Rodriguez of UP-MSI; and Dr. Roger Dolorosa of Western Philippines University graced the event. A second phase of the project is being considered following positive feedback from project stakeholders.