Tales From The Sails

The second leg of UP Marine Science Institute’s (UP MSI) summer research expeditions has officially started. The UP MSI science team is set to conduct research at the Western Palawan Shelf in collaboration with teams from the University of the Philippines Los Baños – Integrated Natural Resources and Environment Management (UPLB INREM) and the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea (UP IMLOS).

Together, they will work towards developing a framework and methodology for natural capital accounting of coastal and marine ecosystems in the Philippines.

Team members from UP MSI are tasked to create an inventory according to an assessment of the country’s marine resources, while those from UPLB INREM and UP IMLOS are assigned to study their economic valuation, and legal and public policy respectively. This research program is funded by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD) under the Resource Inventory, Valuation and Policy in Ecosystem Services under Threat: The Case of the West Philippine Sea (RE-INVEST WPS).