The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recently entered into an agreement with a group of museums and research centers based in the United States concerning the use of ARMS or Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures for assessment of biodiversity areas in the country. Director Mundita Lim of the DENR-Biodiversity Management Bureau said the collaborative research agreement with the Smithsonian Institution is intended for scientific research on biodiversity. “This is part of a larger research previously initiated by Smithsonian Institution and the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration for biodiversity assessment of crypto-biota using ARMS as a standardized biodiversity monitoring tool. The project will also monitor the ecological impacts of ocean acidification, ocean warming, and other stressors and to understand the effects of climate change and ocean acidification to the coral reef community over the long term,” Lim explained.

Villanueva, R. (2015, May 28). DENR to work with Smithsonian for reef preservation. The Philippine Star, p. B-6.