The Philippines is a group of 7000 islands lying in the Coral Triangle.
These waters support more species than any other marine environment on the planet.
And many fishing villages rely on them for their survival.
But this richly biodiverse area faces many threats.
And so, a solution needed to be found.
The Malampaya deep-water gas-to-power platform lies off the coast of Palawan island
and supplies up to 20% of electricity in the Philippines.
This area is really pristine
and for Shell it is important for us to keep it that way.
A big promise to live up to.
Shell committed to protect the area by building its pipeline around the reefs and other sensitive areas.
But there are other challenges in the area
such as threats to marine life from illegal fishing techniques and over-fishing.
Majority of our assets for Malampaya are actually marine-based
and so the primary communities are really coastal communities.
The Malampaya foundation, set up by Shell and its Joint Venture partners,
helps communities establish marine protected areas.
And partners with communities to "organize" reef watch teams.
Conservation is the most fulfilling job that a marine biologist can get.
Helping those communities protect and conserve the marine environment is really an opportunity for us.
Jun is one of the local fishermen who is now part of a community reef team.
We train them in scuba diving and then after that we train them to monitor the reefs,
so they're licensed scuba divers and they're also licensed reef checkers.
To help rehabilitate blasted reefs,
rescued coral fragments are given a better chance to survive
when they are moved to elevated nursery beds.
There are 19 coral nurseries with reef watch teams monitoring their health every month.
We're just trying to rescue those coral fragments, put it on a nursery bed and then allow it to grow.
The ultimate goal is to help out communities to rebuild and restore the marine environment.
We've been doing monitoring since 2012
in the 3 years we're seeing improvements in the fish population.
That's an indication that their conservation programme in the area is working.
But reef monitoring and coral rehabilitation are just part of the solution.
For marine conservation to be truly sustainable,
Malampaya Foundation works at the grassroots level with communities and local governments
to implement a comprehensive coastal resource management programme
that involves education, advocacy and planning with the people to reduce threats
improve management and help enforce laws.
The benefits of marine conservation programmes aren't immediate
but we educate them on sustainable development.
If they conserve it now, they can get what they need for today and also have something left for tomorrow and for the next generations.
Elsewhere in Bulalacao,
training programmes are helping communities to find alternative livelihood opportunities.
Local people have been raising pigs using traditional methods for decades
but the Malampaya Foundation advised on more organic and hygienic ways of feeding them.
In this idyllic setting
with the support of the Malampaya Foundation,
local people like Jun are helping to bring long-lasting benefits to their environment
and creating sustainable sources of livelihood,
now and for future generations.