With arguably the world’s most decentralized coastal governance regime, the Philippines has implemented
integrated coastal management (ICM) for over 30 years as one of the most successful frameworks for coastal
resource management in the country. Anthropogenic drivers continue to threaten the food security and livelihood of
coastal residents; contributing to the destruction of critical marine habitats, which are heavily relied upon for the goods and services they provide.
ICM initiatives in the Philippines have utilized a variety of tools, particularly marine protected areas (MPAs), to
promote poverty alleviation through food security and sustainable forms of development. From the time marine
reserves were first shown to effectively address habitat degradation and decline in reef fishery production (Alcala et al., 2001) over 1,100 locally managed MPAs have been established in the Philippines; yet only 10-20% of these are
effectively managed (White et al., 2006; PhilReefs, 2008).
In order to increase management effectiveness, biophysical, legal, institutional and social linkages need to be
strengthened and “scaled up” to accommodate a more holistic systems approach (Lowry et al., 2009). This
summary paper incorporates the preliminary results of five independently conducted studies. Subject areas covered
are the social and institutional elements of MPA networks, ecosystem-based management applicability, financial
sustainability and the social vulnerability of coastal residents to climate change in the Central Philippines. Each
section will provide insight into these focal areas and suggest how management strategies may be adapted to
holistically address these contemporary issues. (PDF contains 4 pages
