At all scales, political will and economic commitments are needed to reduce local pressures on reefs and promote reef resilience in the face of a changing climate. As there is no single comprehensive evaluation of all of the MPAs so far, the Philippine government could consider investing funds on comprehensive scientific evaluation of all the MPAs in the Philippines so as to efficiently and effectively focus on areas that need improvements.
In addition, international regulations to govern trade in reef products can be tighten through international agreements such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to reduce the attractiveness of reef trade market. Stricter quotas on reef trade should be implemented and the local government should increase penalty on fishermen caught in illegal activities such as illegal reef trading and the illegal use of fishing methods.
The Coral Triangle Initiative represents a tremendous step forward for international collaboration but the relevant parties should monitor the progress of the plans and targets in order to ensure a full scale implementation of the plans to proceed.