In the face of climate change, the reefs of Verde Island, situated in the middle of the “center of the center of marine biodiversity” in the world, are showing signs that they are protected from the major impacts of climate change. According to Bart Shepherd, senior director of Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) in San Francisco, large-scale coral bleaching events that occurred in other places, like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, have not been observed in the reefs of Verde Island Passage. The Verde Island Passage is a 1.14 million hectare stretch of water along portions of the provinces of Batangas, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque and Romblon in Southern Luzon, Philippines.

De Vera-Ruiz, E. (2018, October 13). Verde Island reefs show resilience to climate change. Manila Bulletin, pp. 1, 9.