By: Carlo Calos

The OML Center presented the findings of their mangrove research under the Evidence-based Rehabilitation Study of the Yolanda-affected areas at the International Conference on Marine Science and Aquaculture (ICOMSA) 2015. The conference was held last 17-19 March at the Promenade Hotel, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. The event was organized by the Universiti Malaysia Sabah.With the theme of “Challenges and Opportunities in Developing Blue Economy,” the conference aimed to provide an avenue to share ideas and experiences on researches in marine science and aquaculture.

The program featured plenary sessions as well as break-out sessions in aquaculture and marine science. Keynote speakers from Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan and Philippines conveyed topics on ocean policy governance, coral reproduction, fish stocks and climate impacts on aquaculture, respectively. Simultaneous sessions on marine science and aquaculture covering vast topics such as climate change, marine ecology, fish stock brooding, live feed and aquaculture development, among others.

The OML Center participated under the marine science sessions particularly on Marine Protected Areas and Climate Change. The paper entitled Vegetation Resistance and Coastal Bioshield Modeling of Selected Typhoon Haiyan-affected Mangroves in the Philippines: Implications on Rehabilitation Policies and Practices that aimed to promote proper planning in implementing rehabilitation activities on mangrove ecosystems.

The conference concluded with a special session on the Coral Triangle Initiative as well as a workshop on fish brooding in the Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

The presented paper is part of the Evidence-based Rehabilitation of the Yolanda-affected Areas under Component 2: Ecosystems Rehabilitation and Management. The Team is comprised of Rafaela Jane P. Delfino, Carlo M. Carlos, Dr. Drandreb Earl O. Juanico, Dr. Laura T. David and Dr. Rodel D. Lasco.