About MCP
About Marine Conservation Philippines
We are a Filipino non-profit protecting the coral reefs, seagrass meadows and mangroves of southern Negros Oriental. Since 2015 we have paired long-term reef science with practical community work, alongside the fishers, local governments and agencies who depend on these waters.
Our team of staff, local scholars and international volunteers surveys the reefs, supports Marine Protected Areas and shares what we learn with the people who make decisions about the coast.
See our achievements year by year
Population: Philippine Statistics Authority, 2024 Census of Population. Plastic: weighed litter totals converted to pieces using our beach clean-up audits (200,000+ items sorted and weighed). Diver time: our survey databases.
Our mission
Using science to understand how local and global pressures affect marine ecosystems, we work with communities and government to build the local and national capacity to reduce and adapt to these pressures, for a sustainable future for the Philippine people and environment.
Our vision
A Philippines where healthy reefs, mangroves and seagrass meadows keep feeding and protecting the communities that depend on them.
How we work
What we do
Everything we do rests on long-term data and on partnerships with the communities and governments who manage the coast.
Reef science
We conduct long-term monitoring of coral reefs and share the data and research papers openly.
Our monitoring
Protected areas
We support Marine Protected Areas and the Bantay Dagat wardens who patrol them, with funds, assets, manpower, training and survey data.
Our projects
Communities
Scholarships for young Filipinos, environmental education and alternative livelihoods for fishing families.
Community projects
Training
Volunteers, interns and scholars learn scientific scuba diving and contribute to monitoring databases. We build diving careers.
Volunteer with usBoundaries: NAMRIA and PSA, via OCHA and geoBoundaries (CC BY 3.0 IGO).
Where we work
Southern Negros Oriental, and beyond
We run reef monitoring along the coasts of Zamboanguita, Siaton and Santa Catalina. Through two municipal alliances, BATASS and BATMAN, our support reaches nine more municipalities. Add the weekly coastal clean-ups in Dauin and Dumaguete City, and we work in 14 municipalities in all. We also hold a permanent seat on the Protected Area Management Board of Apo Island, one of the best-known marine reserves in the Philippines.
Our survey area
BATASS alliance
BATMAN alliance
Coastal clean-ups only
Here our support is limited to weekly coastal clean-ups.
Who we are
How we are organised
Several of our trustees are local community leaders and coastal resource officers who have worked with us since the very beginning, so the people who live with our decisions help make them.
External advisors
Science, strategy, partnerships and governance, advising the Board, the Director and the General Managers
Community
- LGU partnerships
- Education programme
- Ocean plastics team
- Scholarships
- Youth camps
- Capacity building for People's Organisations
Science
- Citizen science programme
- Government liaison
- Academic partnerships
- Research and publications
Operations and support
- Dive operations
- Logistics
- Kitchen and maintenance
- Security
- Accounting
- Legal
- Web and IT
Partners
Who we work with
Our work depends on partners in government, science, education and the dive industry.
Governance and transparency
Registered, audited and open
Marine Conservation Philippines is the public name of Marine Habitat Preservation of the Philippines Inc., a non-stock, non-profit organisation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines, registration no. CN201506332.
Our accounts are audited by an independent certified public accountant.
Our story
Since 2015
From a small team running reef surveys and beach clean-ups to a permanent seat where marine reserves are managed.
2015
- Founded in Zamboanguita and registered as a non-profit
- Reef and MPA monitoring begins
2016
- Ocean plastic clean-ups begin
- Our education programme begins
2017
- Mangrove restoration begins, with a nursery at our base
2018
- Our first ecotourism and alternative livelihood projects begin
2019
- Our first Sea Camps for local teenagers, now held every year
- We launch Veggioke.com, a plant-based recipe site that has since had more than 400,000 visits
2020
- Daily clean-ups with Pro Ocean begin on beaches, river mouths and mangroves
2024
- Our partnership with the BATASS and BATMAN municipal alliances begins
2025
- We launch our fully funded scholarship programme, training young Filipinos from first dive to Divemaster
2026
- Custodian of the Coral Cay Conservation legacy
- Permanent seat on the Apo Island Protected Area Management Board