our brand story
"The goals and initiatives are geared towards empowering the local communities and enhancing the protection of marine biodiversity."
Creating Livelihoods
Creating Livelihoods
Our staff in charge of the daily operations of the marine sanctuary are locals from both Tabalong and Bingag. Employment of the locals can help to convince them that there is more to gain from protecting their assets rather than exploiting them. Currently, they hold important roles such as:
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Divemaster (licensed and trained guides)
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Fish warden and boatman
Protecting the marine sanctuary
Ecotourism incentivises the protection of the marine sanctuary. The user-generated fees contribute to the funding of the daily operations of the marine sanctuary. These include the hiring of manpower and buying of equipment for monitoring (petrol for the patrol boats) and maintenance (ropes and buoys).
Protecting the MPA can also benefit the broader local community who are not directly employed. With healthier corals and fewer stressors on the environment within the Sanctuaries, this would improve the fish stocks and ensure larger spillover effects into the waters surrounding these sanctuaries. Fishermen who are able to fish outside the MPA reported higher fish catch from spillover effects of the MPA.
Better management and conservation of the marine sanctuary
“Both Bingag and Tabalong have designated marine protected areas (MPA) off the coast of Dauis. The two Marine Sanctuaries are a mere 2.797 kilometres apart from each other, and yet they have very different management styles and successes. This joint partnership provides a platform where both MPAs can work together. This encourages sharing of expertise and transfer of best practices between the MPAs.