New UP MSI website brings Pag-asa island’s biodiversity closer to Filipinos

Nicholas John Vidal

If Pag-asa island were a Netflix series, most Filipinos would know it for the drama-filled episodes, not the remarkable biodiversity hidden behind it. Now, researchers are hoping the island’s name will come to stand for something else as well: a growing appreciation of the lush biodiversity it harbors.

In a bid to do so, the University of the Philippines, Marine Science Institute (UP MSI) recently launched “Pag-asa Island: A Hidden Pearl of Biodiversity” last May 21, an online platform bringing together years of scientific research, field photographs, and numerous expedition accounts documenting the island’s biodiverse ecosystems.

According to UP MSI, the website was developed to make scientific information more accessible to the general public, whilst simultaneously raising awareness of the ecological significance of Pag-asa island as well as its surrounding waters.

This platform serves as a digital repository of studies and theses conducted by researchers from UP MSI who have carried out scientific expeditions in the country’s westernmost islands since 1993.

Visitors are free to explore research documenting the island’s rich marine and terrestrial life, including coral reefs, seabirds, a wide array of fish species, and other organisms that contribute to the island’s rich biodiversity.

The website also features photographs, as well as personal reflections from the scientists who conducted fieldwork in the island, offering the public a closer glimpse at the discoveries and challenges faced by these researchers.

Further supporting the scientists’ pursuit of scientific inquiry, the project also received support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives through the Embassy of Canada, further aiding community and development-focused initiatives in the area.

Researchers are also planning to establish a future exhibit at the UP Diliman College of Science that will showcase specimens, materials, and discoveries gathered during expeditions to Pag-asa island.

Dr. Maria Celia Malay, a marine biologist and a member of the research team, says the planned exhibit is envisioned to serve as a “research museum” that would further make Pag-asa island’s biodiversity more accessible to students, researchers, and the general public.


With spirits held high, the institution says the platform will continue to grow as new expeditions are conducted, allowing more scientific findings to emerge from future research in Kalayaan Island Group.

If the West Philippine Sea dispute has long been the most talked-about episode of Pag-asa island’s story, researchers hope that by implementing this platform, more Filipinos will recognize the chapters that have remained largely untold, particularly those that tell of its abundant biodiversity and the life that thrives within and around its shores.