The Philippines is host to more than 1800 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and is committed to significantly expand their number and size under the 30 x 30 framework. These MPAs face an increasing threat from multiple hazards, most notably typhoons, which can severely damage mangroves, coral reefs and seagrass meadows. Already chronically underfunded, many MPA management councils struggle to replace lost monitoring assets and finance rehabilitation work. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) commissioned this pre-feasibility study in order to analyse the potential of new insurance solutions to assist MPAs bouncing back quickly in the aftermath of typhoon events.
At four selected sites, numerous discussions with a diverse range of stakeholders were held in order to collect data, understand their constraints, aspirations and views on ecosystem services provided by the MPAs, as well as threats through typhoons or other hazards. The concept of dedicated “MPA insurance” was introduced in order to understand stakeholders’ perception on its feasibility and impact on conservation outcomes.
