Export PDF

FPE-Funded Researches

[2013] Re-assessment of Community-managed Mangrove Forest Ecosystem in Maribojoc Bay

Maribojoc Bay, the largest bay in Bohol and home to one of the richest mangrove ecosystems in the country, was studied to reassess its biophysical resources, establish a community-managed mangrove monitoring system, and produce a five-year climate change-resilient management plan.

Project Proponent/Partner: Participatory Research Organization of Communities and Education towards Struggle for Self-Reliance (PROCESS)-Bohol
Project Duration: April 2013-May 2014

Covering an area of 145 square kilometers, MaribojocBay is the largest one in the province of Bohol. As such, it is home to one of the richest mangrove ecosystem biodiversity in the country; 25 species from 13 families have been identified in the area. Maribojoc Bay also includes 573 hectares of coral reef and 84 hectares of mangrove forest, from which the surrounding municipalities obtain PhP 43.1 million and PhP 33.7 million in annual revenues, respectively.

This Research and Socio-Economic Assessment (RSEA) project proposed by the Participatory Research Organization of Communities and Education towards Struggle for Self-Reliance (PROCESS)-Bohol is intended to reassess the current biophysical resources and conduct thorough social and services mapping of the Maribojoc Bay, as well as to institutionalize a community-based monitoring system for the mangroves of the said area. Another objective of the study is to produce a five-year climate change-resilient management plan for the entire Bay.

The reassessment aims cover the Southwestern Bohol municipalities of Cortes (barangay Upper de la Paz) and Maribojoc (barangays San Vicente and Dipatlong), utilizing 1997 baseline data gathered by the Silliman University Marine Laboratory through an FPE grant. The previous study served as the basis for various conservation programs in the Bay that eventually evolved into the shared management mechanism established by the local governments of Maribojoc, Cortes, Tagbiliran City, Paglao, and Dauis (MACOTAPADA) through the Maribojoc Bay Executive Management Office.

(Developments and results from the research effort will be added as updates to this page once additional information from FPE’s implementing partners becomes available.)