The technical staff of the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) recently completed an online refresher course with the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (PCSDS) on how to properly collect, manage, and preserve water samples.
The activity was conducted by the Environment Critical Areas Network (ECAN) Monitoring and Evaluation Division (MED) of the PCSDS on April 13. The refresher course aims to teach the TMO technical staff on how to collect, analyze, and store water samples properly to help monitor the health of aquatic ecosystems in the natural park and World Heritage Site, investigate the origins of pollution or contamination, and comply with regulatory requirements.
According to PCSDS, EMED provided the TMO Staff with insights on the mechanics and dynamics of water sampling and assessment, including its parameters, procedures, and evaluation.
“This is part of TMO Staff’s preparation in facilitating their own water sampling and assessment of 20 water quality stations in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP),” PCSDS said in a statement.
The collected data will then be submitted to the PCSD Environmental Laboratory for further analysis and evaluation.
The PCSDS EMED regularly conducts water assessment and evaluation every quarter to determine ecosystem conditions and trends in Palawan.
The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is a marine protected area (MPA) covering 97,030 hectares in the province of Palawan. It is 150 kilometers southeast of Puerto Princesa City.
The park consists of two coral atolls, the North and South Atolls, as well as the Jessie Beazley Reef, a lesser coral structure located approximately 20 kilometers north of the atolls.
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