The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) through its Biodiversity Management Bureau identified the municipality of Santa Ana, Cagayan as one of the six project sites nationwide for the establishment of marine stations.
“Sta Ana, Cagayan will be the northernmost site to serve as sentinel covering the Northern Philippine Sea marine biogeographic region,” DENR Secretary Maria Antonio Yulo-Loyzaga said in a news release emailed Thursday, Feb. 22. She visited the region recently.
Loyzaga appealed for local government and other stakeholders’ support in Santa Ana to protect and preserve its coastal and marine resources, as a scientific marine research hub will be established in the municipality where the famous Palaui Island Protected Landscape and Seascape is located.
The goal of the project is to enhance ocean science, resource management and development strategies.
Loyzaga said corals that live in the northern parts of the Philippines are resilient to climate change per extensive scientific research conducted by the University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute (UPMSI).
“This project is so important that is why we are working with the UPMSI to create further studies in collaboration with the community, and we would like this to be a center of education so that we know why we need to protect the area,” she added.
DENR-Cagayan Valley executive director Gwendolyn Bambalan thanked Loyzaga for considering the region as one of the recipients of a marine research station.