Regenerating the ocean by listening to the sea and the locals who call it home

FAR FROM CORPORATE BOARDROOMS WHERE ESOTERIC SUSTAINABILITY MEASURES ARE DISCUSSED, A SMALL YET FORMIDABLE TEAM ON PALAWAN'S REMOTE SHORES GETS ITS HANDS DIRTY WITH REGENERATING THE EARTH'S LIFELINE: THE OCEAN.

- By DANNA PEÑA

In 2016, Sulubaaï Foundation, a Filipino-French NGO based in Palawan, established a small 4.5-hectare island named Pangatalan as its first Marine Protected Area (MPA) dedicated to conserving marine life and ecosystems. Fast forward to 2025, the foundation's work has expanded into a community-led network of MPAs that gained international recognition for its exceptional marine biodiversity conservation efforts.

The Shark Fin Bay MPA Network, now comprising five MPAs, was awarded a gold-level Blue Park Award presented by the Marine Conservation Institute during the 3rd UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France, on June 12, 2025. Home to flourishing tropical coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests, it's now the fourth Blue Park in the Philippines, following Siete Pecados Marine Park in 2024, Apo Reef Natural Park in 2022, and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in 2017.

According to the Marine Conservation Institute, a Blue Park is an MPA that meets the highest science-based standards for conservation effectiveness. With Shark Fin Bay MPA network's newfound accolade, it's now part of a growing global network of 34 awarded Blue Parks that serve as exceptional models for marine conservation.

"While the award is a source of pride and motivation, it's not just about Sulubaaï," says Conservation Officer Kim Mamburam. "It proves how local Filipino communities, when respected, collaborated with, and truly included, can lead effective and globally-recognized conservation efforts."

Their approach? Listen to the sea—and the locals who call it home.

A BAY REBORN THROUGH PERSISTING IN ITS POTENTIAL