Marine Conservation Philippines (MCP) was founded in 2015 on a simple belief: long-term marine conservation only succeeds when local communities, government agencies, scientists and volunteers work together. The idea took shape over several years, as founders Søren Knudsen and Helle Larsen spent time within the dive industry across Asia and noticed a gap. Many organisations were bringing volunteers to coral reefs, but few were building the long-term scientific data, local capacity and government partnerships needed for conservation outcomes that outlast a single project. Rather than launch another short-term volunteer programme, they set out to build a permanent Filipino conservation organisation capable of operating for decades.

The organisation established itself in Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental, on the southern coast of Negros Island, a region rich in coral reefs, mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and productive fisheries, but also exposed to the environmental pressures common to coastal communities throughout the Philippines. It was formally registered as a non-stock, non-profit organisation under the name Marine Habitat Preservation of the Philippines Inc., becoming publicly known as Marine Conservation Philippines (MCP).

The early years were modest, with a small team of staff, volunteer divers and local supporters carrying out reef monitoring, beach clean-ups and environmental education. Equipment was acquired gradually, partnerships were earned rather than assumed, and trust had to be built within surrounding communities. From the outset, the founders worked alongside local grassroots leaders and government employees tasked with coastal resource management, several of whom still sit on MCP’s board of trustees today, engaging barangays, municipalities, national government agencies and local fisher organisations in an approach that would go on to define the organisation. As its programmes grew, MCP developed its own campus in Lutoban, with accommodation, classrooms, meeting rooms, equipment storage and training facilities to support both conservation work and a rigorous scientific diving programme.

Over time, the organisation’s scope broadened well beyond its original reef surveys. Monitoring expanded into a comprehensive view of marine ecosystems, covering coral reefs, seagrass habitats, mangroves, fisheries and associated marine biodiversity, work you can follow in more detail under Fieldwork & Monitoring on the blog. Training programmes were established to teach scientific diving to volunteers, university students, local government personnel, scholars and national agencies, and mobile training teams later carried this expertise to remote municipalities across the Visayas. University partnerships opened the door to research that informs both local management decisions and the broader scientific understanding of Philippine marine ecosystems, while environmental education grew from occasional community talks into structured youth education programmes now reaching thousands of school children across South Negros Oriental, a strand of work also covered under Community & Education on the blog.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have remained one of MCP’s central concerns throughout this growth, and the subject of much of our MPAs & Policy coverage on the blog. Rather than managing protected areas itself, the organisation works alongside Local Government Units, People’s Organisations and national agencies, strengthening existing MPAs through scientific monitoring, technical advice, ranger support, training and conservation planning. It’s a model built on the idea that lasting conservation comes from empowering local stakeholders, not replacing them, and it’s why MCP today also supports government agencies including BFAR, DENR and ENRD with scientific survey techniques, training and management best practices.

As experience grew, so did the recognition that healthy coral reefs can’t be protected in isolation, particularly as reef threats and climate pressures intensified. MCP expanded into mangrove restoration, seagrass research, fisheries management, plastic pollution reduction, ghost net removal and Crown-of-Thorns starfish intervention, introducing alternative livelihood initiatives where appropriate, on the understanding that conservation and sustainable economic opportunity are often closely linked.

What began as a small local initiative has grown into one of the Philippines’ larger independent marine conservation NGOs. MCP now runs multiple long-term scientific monitoring programmes through an ethically sound volunteering programme, collaborates with numerous university and government partners, and supports conservation initiatives across several municipalities in the Visayas. It has trained hundreds of scientific divers and conservation practitioners, restored and protected extensive coastal habitats, published scientific research, and reached thousands of students through its education programmes. According to our current impact figures, MCP has:

• Helped strengthen protection for more than 300 hectares of marine habitat.
• Planted more than 30,000 mangrove trees.
• Reached over 10,000 schoolchildren.
• Trained more than 1,000 people in scientific diving and marine management.
• Removed more than 1,000 metres of ghost nets.
• Collected and recycled more than 300 tonnes of plastic waste.
• Established partnerships with more than eight Local Government Units.

Marine conservation continues to evolve, and so does MCP. Coral reef monitoring remains a core part of the work, but increasing emphasis is being placed on whole-ecosystem conservation, recognising the value of seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and the ecological connections between coastal habitats. The organisation continues to strengthen its scientific capacity, develop Filipino conservation professionals, expand government partnerships, and improve transparency through open reporting and published research, including through our data portal. More than a decade after the original idea was conceived, the mission remains unchanged: to protect and restore marine ecosystems through research, education, community engagement, and long-term collaboration with the people who depend on healthy oceans every day.