Water Quality Assessment for the Management of Marine
Protected Areas: The Case of Bago City, Philippines
M. Pandan, and M. Jonco (120-128)
Industrialization coupled with accelerating human population growth has caused the deterioration of our natural resources. One evident environment issue is marine pollution, which affects the ecological balance in our coastal resources. In order to prevent the degradation of our coastal waters, there is a need to effectively manage established marine protected areas (MPAs) in our country. One challenge that is faced by managers is the lack of scientific information on the quality of our marine waters. These data will enable MPA managers to access the condition of the MPA and understand the cause and effect relationships in order to initiate appropriate interventions in the MPA. In this study, the water quality of the MPA, surrounding coastal waters, and a contributory river in Bago City, Philippines, was determined to provide an evidence-based approach in identifying pollution management strategies in the area. Four (4) sites were sampled for eight (8) parameters, namely, dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, total suspended solids, nitrates as nitrogen, phosphates, color, and fecal coliform counts for 12 months. Results show that contamination in the MPA is evident as seen from its high color values and coliform counts. This is mainly caused by the sediment and wastewater input into the coastal waters. It is important that priority areas for MPA management are the control of anthropogenic activities in the area such as dredging and wastewater discharge. Results also showed that environmental factors such as the wind and waves are greatly affecting the water quality of the area, and thus, more studies on these factors are recommended.