Apo Reef

Apo Reef is the largest coral reef in the Philippines and, after Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the second largest contiguous reef system in the world. It has been a Natural Park since 1996, a no-take zone since 2007, a Blue Park Platinum awardee since 2022 and an ASEAN Heritage Park since 2025, it sits on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, and in June 2026 the municipality of Sablayan, which includes the reef, was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. None of that protects a reef on its own. For most of its legal life Apo Reef has been a park with more designations than staff. In November 2025 Blue Alliance signed a renewable delegated management agreement with DENR MIMAROPA to change that: rangers on the water every day of the year, a management system that can be audited, and a reef that pays its own way over time through enterprises owned by and staffed from the surrounding communities.