Intermediate Philippines
Apo Island
The community-run marine sanctuary that became a global model
In the 1980s, the fishermen of a tiny island decided to stop fishing a stretch of their own reef. Forty years later, that experiment is one of the most studied cases of community marine management in the world, and the island now lives off diving.
In this profile you'll find the story of the sanctuary that changed the way coastal conservation is understood, what the island looks like today, what its currents and walls are like, when to go, and what level each site requires.
It's the practical demonstration of a principle that keeps coming up in the conservation category: a small reserve, well patrolled and managed by the people who live off it, works better than a large, abandoned one.
Geography and access
Apo Island is a volcanic islet of just over half a square kilometer off the southeast coast of Negros, home to a small community that traditionally lived off fishing.
The surrounding reef combines shallow hard coral gardens, walls dropping toward the channel, and current zones at the island's points.
In the early 1980s, with support from a nearby university, the community voluntarily established a no-take zone along a stretch of the reef. The subsequent increase in catches in adjacent areas convinced the rest of the island, and the sanctuary took hold.
Today the island lives mainly off diving and snorkeling, manages its own entrance fee, and maintains a local patrol team. The case is regularly cited in the literature on marine protected areas.
Access is by boat from the coast of Negros, on short crossings, with the option of staying on the island itself or taking day trips from the mainland.
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