COMMUNITY-led marine protection efforts took center stage at the 10th Para el MAR (Marine Protected Area Awards & Recognition), held September 17–18 at the Zuri Hotel and attended by more than 200 participants nationwide.
The 2025 edition, which also marked the Marine Protected Area Support Network’s (MSN) 20th anniversary, carried the theme “Bantay Karagatan, Bantay Kinabukasan: Local Action for Biodiversity and the Future.”
Top honors reflected work on the ground as Balisungan Marine Protected Area in Coron, Palawan—a women-managed mangrove site—was named Best Mangrove Award Champion while Ranzo Fish Sanctuary in Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro took 1st Place, Outstanding Locally-Managed MPA.
Meanwhile, the Southern Negros Coastal Development Management Council (SNCDMC) earned 1st Place, Outstanding Network, as Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape was declared Outstanding NIPAS MPA Champion, underscoring the value of large, well-managed seascapes to both biodiversity and local fisheries.
The full winners’ table also recognized runners-up across categories, including Avila Mangrove Reserve (Cadiz City), Siruma Mangrove Local Conservation Area (Camarines Sur), Bauang Bakawan Eco-Tourism Park (La Union), the Calamianes MPA Network, Shark Fin Bay MPA Network (Taytay, Palawan), Masinloc-Oyon Bay Protected Landscape and Seascape, and Cuatro Islas Protected Landscape and Seascape.
Special citations highlighted enforcement and scale: Punta Ilag Fish Sanctuary (San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro) won Best in Enforcement for locally managed MPAs; Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape received the Best in Enforcement citation for NIPAS MPAs; Ranzo Fish Sanctuary received the Savior of the Sea Award; and Concepcion-Sagrada-Bogtong MPA (Busuanga, Palawan) earned the Largest MPA Award for the extent of its no-take core zone.
Beyond awarding, Para el MAR doubled as a learning forum. Sessions covered marine spatial planning and the blue economy, coral restoration governance, blue carbon, R&D for the Ocean Decade, and establishing new protected seascapes, with speakers from DENR-BMB, DA-BFAR, GIZ (SOMACORE), DOST-PCAARRD, UP Marine Science Institute/MERF, ZSL-Philippines, Oceana, and the Jollibee Group Foundation, among others.
Cultural performances by Tribu Paghidaet (Dinagyang 2025 champions) and local band Maharlika Bahandi added a distinctly Iloilo touch to Champions’ Night, the culminating awards program.
First mounted in 2007 and now held biennially, Para el MAR—Spanish for “for the sea” and also an acronym for the Marine Protected Area Awards and Recognition— celebrates communities, organizations, MPA managers and practitioners, and local leaders whose work safeguards coastal and marine resources.
This year’s co-presenters and partners included ZSL-Philippines, DA-BFAR, DENR-BMB, the Jollibee Group Foundation, and organizations advancing the Philippine National Marine 30×30 Target, with support from international funders and programs; major support also came from GIZ (SOMACORE), DOST-PCAARRD, the Coral Restoration Governance Project (UTS, MERF, Macquarie, SCU, via ACIAR), Pacific Environment, and MERF, with additional sponsors Oceana, Rare, WWF-Philippines, and First Gen.
