Project Area Name: Kontiki

Project Manager Name: Noel de la Rosa

This is a Documentation Project. Data contributions from the public are welcome. For more information please use the contact information below.

Contact: info (at) projectbaseline (dot) org

Social Media: Facebook

Project Baseline (PB) Mactan-Cebu is the first in the Philippines. In 2011 we began collecting periodic observation photos of underwater dive sites and data such as water temperature and visibility as a way of tracking changes in the health of our precious underwater environments. Our local goal, in line with PB’s overall objective, is to use these observations in establishing a global database of baseline measurements that not only promotes environmental awareness but also provides an objective starting point for corrective political action and policy formation and evaluation. The significance of global conservation efforts such as Project Baseline is comparable to saving the Amazon rainforest. Experts agree that the Philippine’s underwater environment is the world’s blue water version of the Amazon River basin. According to the 2005 Carpentera & Singer report, “The Philippines is not only part of the center but is, in fact, the epicenter of marine biodiversity, with the richest concentration of marine life in the entire planet.”

Why Mactan-Cebu?

Cebu is unique because most dive spots in the country are away from cities. Cebu is the center of commerce in the Visayas region of the Philippines. Oldest in the Philippines and often called the Queen City of the South, Cebu City is the largest city in the island. Among the main tourist areas around Cebu are the islands of Bantayan, Badian, Malapascua, Camotes and Mactan where many high end resorts are developing. Mactan island, just East of Cebu city, is particularly important because of the large number of beach resorts, and numerous diving opportunities. Many people come here to learn to scuba dive among the coral reefs, underwater wrecks and caves. Because Cebu is the Philippines’ most densely populated island, there is a continual and growing threat of environmental degradation, both on land and underwater. PB’s underwater surveillance helps document environmental damage as well as areas of recovery.

Ants) is probably Spain's best known diving region, and undoubtedly one of the best diving locations in the peninsula. The Islas Hormigas Marine Reserve was created in 1995 and according to the Jacques Cousteau Foundation it is the best diving location in the Mediterranean. This project aims to document and help monitor both natural reefs and the countless wrecks located in the area.

There are two ways to submit data to the Project Baseline database. You can submit data for existing projects, and you can submit data for projects that are not currently hosted (ad-hoc) in the database.