Philippine Stakeholders Advance Marine Conservation Knowledge through PANORAMA Writeshop
Philippine government agencies and partners convened in Quezon City, March 3-5, for a two-part PANORAMA Writeshop aimed at documenting innovative marine and coastal conservation solutions for global knowledge sharing. The activity was organized under the Solutions for Marine and Coastal Resilience in the Coral Triangle (SOMACORE) Programme, a regional initiative supporting the conservation of marine biodiversity across the Coral Triangle.
Implemented by GIZ, with support from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI), SOMACORE works to strengthen effective marine governance and ecosystem resilience in transboundary seascapes. In the Philippines, it is implemented in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) and the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR).
The writeshop brought together representatives from key government agencies and research institutions, including the Department of Agriculture – National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (DA-NFRDI), DENR-BMB, DENR – Foreign-Assisted and Special Projects Service (DA-FASPS), DENR – Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB), DA – Planning and Development Service (DA-PDS) (which participated virtually), and DA-BFAR.
Participants developed and refined case studies for submission to the PANORAMA – Solutions for a Healthy Planet platform, a global knowledge-sharing initiative managed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The platform documents tested solutions to environmental challenges and promotes their replication across countries and regions.
During the sessions, participants refined draft case studies highlighting Philippine approaches to fisheries governance, biodiversity conservation, marine protected area management, ecosystem restoration, and community-based coastal resource management. The writeshop guided participants in structuring their initiatives using PANORAMA’s “building blocks” approach, which emphasizes clearly defined challenges, replicable strategies, measurable impacts, and lessons learned.
