Apo Island Community and the endangered marine life

Posted Wed, 03/25/2009 - 3:55am by Liberty
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  • APO development:
  • The first marine sanctuary in the Philippines

 

  •        In the 1980 APO marine life was over fished and destroyed by dynamite fishing by their own population
  •        Fishermen hat to go to Mindanao to fish for their daily food. 
  •         1982 Liberty , the daughter of Family Proscibillio, a native family from APO, started together with University Sulliman a test project and opened a small strip of beach in the south of APO as a Sanctuary to make Marine life come back.
  •         Fishermen from APO opposed this very strong, seeing they have no access there any more, for their daily food.
  •        Liberty started to employ some of them in her Lodge and dive shop giving them an alternate income for living.
  •       The sanctuary after 10 years of protection started to be successful.
  •      Small dive boats came from Dauin coastline to dive here  as well as the 2 local dive shops on the island.
  •        All in all no conflict with the marine life because only few divers.
  •         In 1995 the department of environmental protection DENR( government) came to APO and built a house to collect visitor and diving fees.
  •         The income of DENR goes basically to the government to Manila.
  •         They decide where the money is used within government. The debt of Philippines government  in 2009 was 234 billion Peso. Outlook year 2010: 294 billion peso.
  •         Dive fees must be seen as a regular government tax income like any other taxes for government.
  •         Visitors assume the fees from DENR will go to APO for protection of marinelife.  But this is not so.
  •         In 2008 Liberty made an attempt to gain money back from DENR for marine life protection, but with small success. DENR employed APO people to watch out on the coastline.
  •         Today APO is known one of the best dive sites in the Philippines, by the work and  the financial help form Liberty. She pays for buys and ropes marking the area, for watchmen, for cleaning the beaches. She built school buildings and Library for better education from her own money. She cares for the APO people and pays most of the hospital bills. She employs about 36 people taken away from fishing.
  •         Everything seems to be ok, but in the meantime other dive places like in Bohol and Cebu are mostly destroyed by fisherman and crowds of divers.
  •         What shall the owners of those Dive resorts do?
  •         Either close their shop because no marine life to see, or come to APO and bring their divers here.
  •         In the meantime large boats from far places come to APO.
  •         DENR maybe be happy , because of more income.
  •         APO people see that their work of years is in danger by too many divers which destroy the corals and fish life.
  •        A conflict of interest: DENR wants more visitors, APO protection wants less.
  •         The dive boats from far away must be bigger to carry more divers so that it is beneficial for the owners of the boats.
  •        So large boats with more than 25 people on board are seen.
  •         It has seen, they throw garbage in the coral waters, hunting fish and scare away our fish life, break off corals for souvenirs.
  •         Steel rare fishes, like the frog fish is gone.On the black marked it pays 20000Peso.
  •         Hunt turtles, injure turtles by speeding through the protected waters.

 

  •         We need to stop this development, otherwise APO marine life will die, like other places did.
  •         Government has no resources to protect and Liberty by herself can’t finance it.
  •         What is needed:
  •         Dive rangers who go on board of the dive boats and under water to control and instruct divers.
  •         Boats for the rangers
  •         Equipment for the rangers
  •         Education and training for the rangers
  •         We estimate 1 or 2 million Peso the initial cost.
  •         We have to watch out at night because fishermen from other places come here at night to have an easy catch.
  •         We try to get in touch with  organizations for giving help

 

  • APO is a protected Area, not a place for fun or easy vacation
  •         We have limited water supply from collecting rain
  •         There are no rivers or wells on the island.
  •         We need to run diesel generators for electricity, which is available only a few hours a day.
  •         Diesel gets more expensive, so we must cut the running time of generators.
  •         Drinking water has to be bought in Negros and shipped to APO.
  •         We need visitors who like to take responsibility for APOs future.
  •         Small things can help.
  •         Volunteer work for limited time and free accommodation, like family planning, teaching install other ways for alternative living .
  •         Teach them how to do other things for living, like crafting, planting vegetable on the top of APO etc.
  •         The village was polluted with waste in the early years. Now donators gave waste bins. We organized the cleaning of the beach.
  •         Others donated schoolbooks, because 8 children have to share 1 book.
  •         Other donators see all the bad teeth of the children. They paid for toothbrushes and paste for 1 year for all school children
  •         Solar panels were donated to run DVD players at school for teaching.
  •        10 computers were donated for better education. Instructors are needed.
  •         There are much opportunities to make APO the place where you see where your money goes.
  •         You could be a member of one APO family.
  •         Come back every year and see the success of your help.
  •         Give support for one child that can visit high school .

 

  • Summary:

 

  • APO was made like it is, by a few people who see what needs to be done.
  • Government has only very limited finance and cannot help much.
  • We see APO in high danger to be destroyed by too many divers. We have to find ways to limit this.
  • We have to put controls in place to protect APO marine life.
  • We need visitors who take part of our problems to solve.
  • We don’t need visitors who are looking out for fun.
  • We need people which want actively help APO.
  • We want APO to make an example how to reestablish destroyed places.
  • We are in process to make a few other places to become like APO
  • It needs money to do, maybe you come to help to setup a second little paradise in the Philippines. Your life will make sense again.You have done something valuable you can be proud of.
  • Students and professors from other countries show up and ask Liberty how she managed APO to make it a small paradise.
  • We can tell and show you what to do. APO is more peaceful and have happy people even if they dont have the lucury you think is nessessary.

 

  • So don’t sit around at home and cry about how nature is destroyed.
  • Here you can be part of a project to really protect  marine life .
  • Maybe it makes you happier to do something, instead of sitting on your sofa at home and consume and feel unhappy what’s ongoing in the world.

  

  • For more information contact Liberty