With this year’s celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity, conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines (WWF-Philippines) and the Davao Gulf Management Council (DGMC) unveiled a complete mapping of the marine biodiversity of the Davao Gulf that will protect the remaining 20 percent of the gulf’s coral reefs.

A comprehensive Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) mapping exercise was recently conducted to assess the Gulf’s sensitivity to oil spills, soil leaching and other environmental disturbances.

Funded by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), the Davao Gulf ESI maps will serve as tools in land use planning, oil spill or marine pollution response operations as well as the proper use of agro-chemicals

Founded on the concept and methodology of ESI mapping, it examines two of the country’s pressing environmental issues – oil spill incidence and the potential for groundwater contamination.

According to WWF, Davao Gulf ranks as one of the priority conservation areas of the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Eco-region and serves as breeding and nursery ground for small and large pelagic species, with frequent sightings of whale sharks, dugongs and leatherback turtles, among the list of species cited in the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).

However, the groups noted the Davao Gulf being threatened by the economic activities it supports with the presence of ports, oil depots, factories and other capital-intensive industries that are perceived to exert pressure on the quality of the water, the natural habitats and the productivity of its fisheries.

In 2006, a study revealed that less than 20 percent of the gulf’s coral reefs remain in good condition.
WWF said people living along the shore have turned onto aquaculture industry, which produces seaweeds, milkfish and tilapia to compensate for ever-decreasing fish yields.

“Over three million people in four cities and 18 municipalities live around the gulf: thousands rely on it for food and livelihood. Reduced productivity will have dire consequences so we should concentrate on protecting what assets remain,” DGMC chairman Leo Avila said.

WWF-Philippines has pioneered ESI mapping for oil spills, which also developed the country’s first ESI map in Batangas.