Strengthening coral reef restoration governance in the Philippines: policy influence, institutional reform and local government capacity

Purpose of research project *

This project investigates the institutional effectiveness and political economy of coral reef restoration governance in the Philippines. Coral reefs face accelerating degradation from multiple threats, and while restoration has emerged as an important recovery tool, significant governance gaps constrain its long-term sustainability. Working across four municipalities: Anda (Pangasinan province), San Vicente (Palawan province), Cordova (Cebu province), and Lobo (Batangas province). The project identifies weaknesses in marine governance frameworks and develops evidence-based best practices, tools, and policy recommendations to strengthen the institutional arrangements needed to ensure the sustained effectiveness of coral restoration.

Who has, is or will benefit *

Primary beneficiaries are Philippine national government agencies — the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), whose regulatory and strategic frameworks for coral restoration are being directly informed by this research. The four municipal governments at project sites are benefiting through improved institutional capacity and coastal management plans. Broader beneficiaries include coastal communities dependent on reef ecosystems for food security and livelihoods, the Philippine marine science community, and regional coral reef managers across the Coral Triangle who may adopt governance models developed through this work.

Description of impact *

The project is generating policy and governance impact across national and local levels in the Philippines. At the national scale, the research team is providing technical and financial resources to DENR's development of a National Coral Reef Program and Strategy, and is in active discussions with BFAR on a Fisheries Administrative Order that would greatly improve regulatory framework for coral restoration by integrating a new database, and recommending a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) system. At the local level, the project supported four municipal governments on co-development of management plans to regulate human activities on restored reefs. These plans are informed by the research, with local ordinances are currently under review for formal adoption of the management plans. These impacts are underpinned by a policy white paper, a policy article synthesising research findings published in Restoration Ecology, and an institutional review of coral restoration policies published in Environmental Science and policy journal. There are more forthcoming papers from this project, including: i) a qualitative analysis of marine protected area and coral restoration interactions from community perspectives; ii) a review of benefit - cost analysis methods for coral restoration; and iii) a review of ecological monitoring outcomes of restoration projects in the Philippines. These are just the papers in review in various journals, but there are three more papers that will be submitted in the next two months.

Impact date	2021 → 2026
Category of impact	Policy impacts, Environment impacts, Society impacts
Impact level	Adoption (early)