Our journey through the treasures of the
Philippines begins here: in the sea that
gives its people life and calls
endlessly
to our sense of wonder. In few places in
the world do the waters teem with so
many riches, for the over seven thousand
islands of the Philippines are spread
across the center of the center of the
Coral Triangle--the global epicenter of
marine biodiversity. Here beneath the
Sulu Sea, lies the coral heart of the
Philippines, the crown jewel of
Philippine diving: The Tubbataha Reefs
Natural Park. Spanning nearly a hundred
thousand hectares, this breathtaking
expanse of reef flats and walls of coral
is one of the most productive coral
reefs in the world. While there are
bigger reefs elsewhere, few can match the
diversity of its marine life. Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park was inscribed into
the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993.
With its extraordinary biodiversity and
relatively pristine state, its existence
is of great importance in the global
ecosystem. Around 600 species of fish and 360 coral species--about half of all
known species--are found here. 150
kilometers southwest of Puerto Princesa
city in Palawan, accessible only via a 12
hour boat, ride the park consists of two
huge atolls--the North and the South--and
the smaller Jessie Beazley Reef. It is
open to visitors only in the summer
between March and June. Those who make
this journey will find themselves richly
rewarded.
Migratory birds swoop overhead
as we approach Bird Islet on the North
Atoll.
Tubbataha is the country's last seabird
rookery, home to the largest population
of seabirds in Southeast Asia. As we dive
below the surface, the deep blue of the
Sulu Sea gives way to a symphony of
color and life as fishes of every shape
and size swim amongst spectacular beds
of coral and walls that plunge hundreds
of feet into the depths.
Here in Black Rock, it seems that Nature has painted
itself with a child's wild sense of
color. It's everywhere in this immense
place as anthias swarm about the coral
in a dance of hues against a canvas
of blue. There's always something new to
discover here, and the chance for a
life-changing intimate encounter with
the most amazing creatures.
Two endangered turtle species nest in Tubbataha.
Here, a green turtle emerges from
under a coral to see who's visiting and,
sensing no danger, it returns to the
important business of scratching its
back.
A critically-endangered Hawksbill Turtle.
It doesn't seem to mind our
company.
Now we're surrounded by a massive school of bigeye trevallies
This marble ray passes by... unimpressed
Down we go with a school of Chevron
Barracuda.
A manta ray glides through the
clear water. It approaches and gives the
camera a little tap with its fin.
Sharks! Most of us think of all shark
species as fearsome man-eaters. But as we
approach these reef sharks, they seem to
want nothing more than to be far away
from us. The presence of these apex
predators is a crucial indicator of the
health of marine ecosystems but around
the world they are being murdered by the
millions for their fins. They're probably
wise to keep their distance from us.
That Tubbataha remains with us today in
its current state is no accident.
It was once, as most of the coral reefs
in the Philippines remain, devastated by
human activity.
- Tubbataha used to be the
traditional fishing grounds of people
from Cagayancillo and at the time it since
there was no protection whatsoever
afforded to the area. There was a gradual
decline of the reef so concerned people
like the divers, DENR and some locals from Palawan, they decided to come together
in protecting the area.
To protect Tubbataha is more than to save a world-renowned
diving destination. It's to save
ourselves. While fishing is strictly
prohibited inside park boundaries, Tubbataha is the source and sink of fish
larvae for the entire Sulu Sea.
- Tubbataha is where most of the fish in the
Philippines are spawned. So they go there
they breed and then they swim out and
that's the fish that we eat.
This is the
Jessie Beazley Reef, a coral cay that was
the last to be added to the park's
boundaries. The difference between this
site and the healthy reefs is stark
but signs of hope are sprouting amidst
the devastation and life here has
returned in surprising, tenacious ways.
The constant vigilance of the locals and
dive groups and active management of
park authorities have dramatically
transformed the state of the park over
the past few decades. This despite the
constant difficulty of securing funds
and the unimaginable challenge of
patrolling such an enormous area with
limited resources.
- One of the big
problems that we encounter really is the
sustainability of our operations. Tubbataha being so far away, right in the
middle of Sulu Sea, it's going to cost a
lot for us to monitor the place and also
to conduct conservation work.
- The problem of their work is the offseason. There is
maybe fishing boats. And there is maybe
only one patrol boat who have to go to
catch a fishing boat? Would you like to
do that in a rough sea if you don't have
a backup?
And then there are plastic
pollution and climate change. There will
be worse storms and increases in
temperature that will put enormous
pressure on the reefs. In the face of all
these challenges, how is it possible to
protect them when around the world,
marine ecosystems on the verge of
collapse from the relentless demands of
human activity?
The recovery and
continued survival of the park depend on
us to allow nature to restore itself.
An undisturbed reef can recover much more quickly from natural and man-made damage
and every visitor to the park helps to
fund the huge task of protecting it.
Beyond that with the increasing
awareness of the interconnectedness of
all the world's oceans and ecosystems,
any contribution to protecting the sea
can make a difference not just for
Tubbataha, but all Philippine seas and
ultimately, all of us.
The sun sets on the sandbar by the
Tubbataha Reef Ranger Station. To see the
sand, sea, and sky stretch on here is to
realize that this place is a treasure to
be protected for generations to come.
The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park. An
irreplaceable gift to the world. In the
words of Lorenzo Tan of the World
Wildlife Fund:
Tubbataha Reef--a source of wonder and
font of life. In the remote center of
this great sea it lives on.
Radiating waves of hope outward.
Restoring the blue planet on which all life depends.
It is past, present, and future.
Undoubtedly, world heritage.
