Marine protected area networks in the Philippines: trends and challenges for establishment and governance

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are the most extensively implemented fisheries management and conservation tool in the Philippines. Most MPAs have been established and managed by communities together with local governments in a variety of community-based and co-management schemes. This approach has proven successful in gaining community acceptance and achieving local-scale fisheries and conservation objectives. However, the contribution of these MPAs to ecologically connected networks of MPAs is variable since most MPAs were not designed to be parts of networks. Nevertheless, there is growing support for the development of MPAs within the national integrated coastal management framework which supports the "scaling up" of MPAs to establish networks. Scaling up in the Philippine context is achieved by forging inter-institutional collaboration among neighboring local governments (i.e. village to provincial level), with the assistance of other institutions such as non-government organizations, academe, government agencies, and development partners including donors. Herein we review the history of MPAs in the Philippines and the development of inter-institutional collaborations and present examples of scaling up of MPAs to form networks. To further the establishment of social and ecological MPA networks in the Philippines, we describe approaches to forming MPA networks and discuss the fundamental elements of successful collaborative partnerships