Monday, October 25, 2010

Apo Island

Apo Island is a volcanic island covering 12 hectares  in land area, 7 kilometers off the southeastern tip of Negros Island.




based on google maps

The marine habitat around the island is a marine reserve, protected by the National Integrated Protected Area Act and under the jurisdiction of the Protected Area Management Board. It has become a popular dive site and snorkeling destination with tourists. There are two resorts on Apo Island, both of which have their own dive centers: Apo Island Beach Resort and Liberty's Lodge.
In 2007 the Island had a populution of 745.

Apo Island is one of the world's best known community-organized marine sanctuaries, and as such it has been well documented by the global science community. The project was started when Dr. Angel Alcala, a marine scientist from the Silliman University Marine Laboratory explained to the local fishermen the importance of creating a marine sanctuary in the area. Initially, there was hesitation on the part of the locals; but after a 3-year dialogue, Dr. Alcala was able to convince the island community to establish the sanctuary. Assisted by the staff of the SU Marine Laboratory in 1982, the local fishermen selected an area along 450 meters of shoreline and extending 500 meters from shore as the sanctuary site. Since then, the project initiated on the island led to the creation of hundreds of other marine sanctuaries in the Philippines.

Apo Island is mainly interesting for Divers. You can reach a lot of great divespots directly from the beach, or within 10 minutes with a boat. Because of that, i can't show you a lot of beach pictures from there.

Regards
Marco

No comments:

Post a Comment