Management histories of Sumilon and Apo Marine Reserves, Philippines, and their influence on national marine resource policy

The histories of management of the Sumilon and Apo marine reserves in the P hilippines provide a stark contrast. Both began with marine conservation an d education programs at the community level, initiated by the Marine Labora tory of Silliman University in 1973 at Sumilon, and in 1976 at Ape. At both islands community support for the "no take" reserve concept evolved gradua lly, via perceived benefits of increased local fish yields and income from tourism. However, Sumilon reserve has been fished down twice (in 1984, 1992 ): and was still being fished in December 1998. Apo reserve has been protec ted from fishing successfully for 16 y (1982-1998). The management historie s of these two marine reserves are the longest and most detailed available for coral reefs. Scientific data spanning 1976-1993 for Sumilon and 1980-19 93 for Apo have provided some of the best available evidence of the utility of such reserves as management tools in coral reef fisheries. At Sumilon, collapse of reserve protection in 1984, after 9.5 y of restrictions on fish ing, led to significant declines in reef fisheries yields in areas adjacent to the reserve. At Ape, continuous protection from 1982 to 1993 has led to consistent build up of fish in the reserve and some evidence that local fi sh yields have increased. The unique time series of scientific data obtaine d from Sumilon and Apo islands are the result of their distinct management histories. The greater success of management at Apo was due to community su pport for the reserve concept being actively maintained: for the past 16 y. Socio-political factors caused the level of community support for the Sumi lon reserve to wax nd wane over this period. Both case histories have had a profound effect on marine resource management in the Philippines. As marin e reserve models they had substantial influence on the design of the Nation al Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS). Policy now encourages co-manag ement between the National government and local communities, with a strong emphasis on decentralization of decision malting and recognition of local t erritorial use rights in fisheries.