Danjugan is a small island in Negros Occidental, some 2km long and 500m wide. The Danjugan Island Marine Reserve and Sanctuaries (DIMRS) was established in April 2000, and the Reef Monitoring Programme has been designed as an annual monitoring and community training programme.

Its main aims are twofold; firstly to collect data on reef fish and benthic organisms so as to monitor the efficacy of DIMRS management. Secondly it will provide training and skills validation to local research workers, encompassing revision of identification skills, fish size estimation, methods, project leadership and safety.

In the medium to long term it is anticipated that scientific leadership will be handed over to local scientist counterparts, and a local 'action team' will be established, able to apply their skills to similar projects in adjacent communities. The project is being carried out in collaboration with the Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation Inc.

This project answers the call for capacity building, monitoring and effective Marine Protected Area management at community level issued by experts participating in the South-east Asia workshop of the International Coral Reef Initiative in April 2001 in Cebu.

It is piloting a new approach to involve trained fisherfolk in SCUBA-based research and monitoring, which has not yet been implemented elsewhere in the Philippines. Results and reports will be published widely, from posters at local village level to scientific publications for the global audience.