Researchers from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman and Los Baños will take a deep dive into the West Philippine Sea to explore and assess the marine and coastal resources and establish its economic value as part of the country’s natural capital accounting. This is through the program, “Resource Inventory, Valuation, and Policy in Ecosystem Services under Threat (REINVEST): The Case of the West Philippine Sea,” which is supported by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).
To formally start the implementation of the program, an inception meeting was held on April 25, 2022 via Zoom. Dr. Reynaldo V Ebora, Executive Director of DOST-PCAARRD welcomed the participants to the event.
“It is about time that the undervalued and unaccounted ecosystem assets and services of the West Philippine Sea be further identified and integrated into the country’s System of National Accounts (SNA) for us to manage and develop or utilize said resources sustainably – for what gets measured gets managed,” Dr. Ebora said. He added that he is hopeful and optimistic that this will provide invaluable knowledge for the betterment of the Philippine economy and to the Filipino community.”
The program has three component projects focusing on: 1) resource assessment; 2) resource valuation and accounting; and 3) policy analysis and development. Dr. Laura T. David of the UP Marine Science Institute spearheads the program and project 1. Meanwhile, projects 2 and 3 are led by Dr. Canesio D. Predo from the Interdisciplinary Studies Center on Integrated Natural Resources and Environment Management of UPLB and Atty. Jay L. Batongbacal of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea of the UP Law Center in Diliman, respectively.
Previous studies have showcased the value of some of the marine and coastal resources found in the West Philippine Sea, such as its coral reefs, biodiverse fishes, and prospective energy sources, while others are still unexplored. However, over time, these resources have been deliberately and accidentally overexploited and damaged through human activities. There is still a lack of literature, which seeks to determine reparation for these effects. The REINVEST program will work around these issues and come up with a total economic value estimate of the resources in the West Philippine Sea guided by national and international policies for valuation and damage assessment. Through this program, the team also intends to support the integration of coastal and marine ecosystems into the country’s SNA.
Dr. Ernesto Brown, Director of the Socio-Economics Research Division (SERD) of DOST-PCAARRD, said that one of the main goals of the program is to replicate the process in other parts of the country for proper valuation of other ecosystem services, especially those which are under threat.
The inception meeting was attended by external project evaluators Dr. Ramon Alampay, Dr. Herminia Francisco, and Ms. Annabelle Cruz-Trinidad, and resource persons Ms. Sandra Arcamo of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and Ms. Desiree Maaño, Mr. Joaquin Silvestre, Mr. Aidrian Roy Ediscul, and Mr. Jello Ortega of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The REINVEST West Philippine Sea program started its implementation in April 2022 and is expected to run for three years.