Why Tubbataha Reef is a World Heritage site

Tubbataha Reef off remote Cagayancillo Island in Palawan was the first natural site from the Philippines inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage list in 1993, an inscription so appropriate for an archipelago like the Philippines where the sea is the principal life-giving force, the center of people’s lives.

 

Why is Tubbataha of World Heritage quality?

The Unesco World Heritage Committee that reviews all nominations to the World Heritage list says that it is one of the most outstanding coral reefs in the region, with one of the densest groupings of coral and marine life in the world.

It further affirms that in the 33,200 hectares of the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park is seen a unique example of an atoll reef with a very high density of marine species.

The site is an excellent example of a pristine coral reef with a spectacular 100-meter perpendicular wall encrusted with marine life. Also, it has extensive lagoons and two coral islands.

The North Reef is a nesting site for birds and marine turtles.

Tubbataha Reef is within a vast national park and marine sanctuary that lies in the middle of the Sulu Sea, 150 km away from Puerto Princesa City. It takes a 12-hour boat ride to get there.

The reef harbors a diversity of marine life greater than any other such area in the world.

No wonder it is a desirable diving location. Its inaccessibility makes site maintenance extremely difficult.

However, inaccessibility could also be an asset to Tubbataha since its remote location protects the site by limiting the pressure on the environment caused by more divers than the carrying capacity of Tubbataha can handle.

Cycle preserved

Tubbataha’s existence has been turbulent.

Although fishermen exploited the reefs, the monsoons prevented fishing for nine months, allowing marine life and the reef time to regenerate. Despite human destruction, the cycle of nature preserved Tubbataha.

Although legislation protecting Tubbataha was in place as early as the 1980s, dynamite fishing and other destructive fishing methods severely damaged the cover of living coral to the point that in 1989 a study showed that the coral in the outer reefs had decreased by 25 percent.

Fishermen from southern and central Philippines once fished with absolutely no regard of the severe impact of their methods on the marine life, but now, thanks to the constant and determined vigilance of Tubbataha authorities, they must follow strict controls.

It was once severely threatened by the establishment of a large seaweed farm in one of the islets in its vicinity, taking advantage of the sheltered reefs of its atoll system. The Department of the Environment and Natural Resources and Tubbataha Foundation successfully fought to eliminate the threats.

Coral reef areas are vital in sustaining the economic, marine and ecological balance of the Philippines.

Most fish and invertebrate larvae that originate in Tubbataha Reef are believed to migrate with the prevailing currents to the eastern side of Palawan and to the entire Sulu Sea. They eventually provide the fish catch that sustains the life of the people.

Complex links

Since the Philippine nation benefits from the preservation of its environment, it is therefore crucial to sustain Tubbataha Reef in as close to its pristine state as possible.

Today the reef is professionally managed, fishing is finally controlled, and tourism is controlled as well.

The global ecological system is linked in a very complex manner and Tubbataha is one of these links that contribute to the ecological health of the world.

Considering that 75 percent or more of the coral reefs in the Philippines are in varying stages of decline, Tubbataha stands out as one of the best managed and conserved marine sanctuaries in the country, an example worth emulating.

Please Vote it at New7wonders.com

How to Become an Excellent Student

Steps

1. Like all exceptionally great students, you must pay attention! When a teacher is giving a lesson, take notes and if you don't get something, raise your hand and ask. The more questions you ask, the smarter you'll get, believe it or not. By passing notes and talking to friends, you won't learn anything, so pay close attention!
2. Review your notes when you have free time.
3. Take some time to write some problems up, or you could ask someone to write them for you. Just remember, it doesn't hurt to go over what you have learned.
4. Do your homework. Teachers give you homework for a reason. It is to review what you have learned that day. Take advantage of your free time. If you really want to be a successful student, you should know right from the beginning when you want to be great at anything, you have to put up with things that just don't seem fair. Doing your homework is not a big deal. Remember, homework can also help you develop good habits and attitudes.
5. Be prepared. Bring everything you need with you to class. Books, folders, pens, pencils, homework, review sheets etc. whatever you need it would be a good idea to bring it.
6. Get organized. Keep a folder for each subject, and yes, you put your math papers in your math folder, you put your Language Arts papers in your Language Arts folder, you put your science papers in your science folder, and so on. It would really be a good idea to color code or label your folders.
7. Study. It would be a good idea to start studying a few days before a test. Make a study schedule. If an extracurricular activity gets in the way of your studying, tell the person in charge of that certain event, that you will not be able to attend that event, or you will have to leave early. However, there will be certain situations where you will have to attend whatever it is. In this kind of situation, you will just have to study another day. This is where your study schedule comes in. Write out a schedule of the week of your test and find your free time. Always remember, use your time wisely.
8. Start to read a little more. If you are not already a reader, start at your level and work your way up. You may not know this, but by reading more challenging and difficult books, you are expanding your vocabulary.
9. Ask a parent or older sibling to look over your notes and create a mini-test for you 3 days advance of your test. You should always want to study before the night of your test.
10. Use of mindmaps can be helpful for understanding hard topics.

Tips

• Always go for extra credit even if you are getting a 98% in that certain class. You can always do better.
• Stay focused. Everyone knows school can be boring, but you have got to concentrate on getting focused. Keep your eyes on the teacher, keep your ears open, and take notes. Taking notes will help you think and help you understand what is being taught more.
• Sleep! Sleeping well is essential to keep you concentrated on classes and also on your studies.
• Rewriting notes taken in class is helpful if taking exceptionally hard classes. (Ex. law, economics, engineering etc.)
• Lessons are fun if you pay attention and listen to what the teacher is saying, and if you know about that topic you will feel good, and if you don't know about it, maybe you should study it a little.
• Find out your learning style (ex.visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.) and look online to find out about study habits that match your learning style. You'll be surprised at how much easier it is! But be sure to answer the quiz questions truthfully.
• Also, find out if you are a left brain or a right brain. Left brain is organized, logical, rational. Right brain is intuitive, lets feelings go, sees things in an abstract way. If you take a quiz and discover you are both, no worries! Lots of people are.
• Study before sleeping (but don't stay up too late!). By doing this, you'll remember what you've studied the next morning. But if you study then watch TV or something like that, you'll forget more (because memories are consolidated during sleep).
• Also remember that psychological studies have shown that people tend to forget much of the information learned in the last ten minutes before falling asleep. So you should do something else before you go right to bed after studying.

time management is the most important thing

Warnings

• Whatever you do, do not procrastinate; don't put things off. If you do, you will have to rush on that certain project, and you probably won't get the grade you wanted in the first place. If you procrastinate for a test, you will have to review what you will be tested on in a short amount of time.
• Don't freak out if you get a bad grade on a paper. Everyone (including high level students) get bad grades once in a while. It's not the end of the world. Just try harder next time.
• Above all, don't cheat. Cheating doesn't teach you anything at all. Plus, if you get caught, you will get into serious trouble. It's not worth it!
• Sometimes being an excellent student can lead to unpopularity or people thinking that you are weird. Do some sports or socialize once a while.
• Be on top of your grades. If your school has online grades (Skyward) then check every other day. That way you aren't surprised when you get your progress report, and know if you forgot to turn something in, need to work on something or if a teacher entered a grade wrong.