• The Guimaras oil spill is the second such incident in the Philippines in the last eight months. In December 2005, a power barge ran aground on the nearby coast of Antique, dumping 364,000 litres of bunker oil. This oil spill severely polluted 40km of Antique’s coastline and decimated more than 230ha of pristine mangrove forest. Rehabilitation costs are estimated at US$ 2 million, and clean up efforts have not yet been completed.

• WWF has been working in the Guimaras Strait area for several years to promote sustainable coastal management. In 2004, WWF-Philippines facilitated the completion of participatory coastal resources assessments covering a 54km coastline and 37,187ha of municipal waters in the four towns of the Northern Guimaras Strait, as well as developed a programme for the sustainable management of the Strait’s blue crab fishery.

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