Apart from being an educator, Dr. Alcala is a marine biologist known for his outstanding contributions to Philippine biological sciences, particularly on marine biodiversity and herpetology. His fieldwork, which added 50 new species of amphibians and reptiles out of the 400 known species, gave international conservationists a reliable basis for establishing conservation programs on Philippine vertebrate biodiversity.

Dr. Alcala has conducted research since his days as a student in the mid-1950s. The subjects of his research during the early years were taxonomy and ecology of Philippine amphibians and reptiles supported by grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation based at Stanford University and the California Academy of Sciences, of which he is an Honorary Fellow. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. He has published almost every year in marine science since the early 1980s and has authored or co-authored, to date, some 200+ papers and books on Philippine herpetology (mostly with Dr. Walter C. Brown) and marine science, marine protected areas and biodiversity conservation (more than 40 papers, mostly with Dr. Garry Russ).

In the early 1970s, Dr. Alcala as biology professor at Silliman University founded the Silliman Marine Laboratory (now the Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences), which is actively engaged in research on marine science.

He established the first working no-take marine reserve in the country (Sumilon Marine Reserve) off southern Cebu in 1974, the Apo Marine Reserve off southern Negros in 1982, and a dozen similar reserves in southern Philippines, particularly in the Bohol (Mindanao) Sea, as well as strengthened the management of about 60 no-take marine reserves in this body of marine waters. No-take marine reserves allows the build-up of marine biodiversity including fishery species as well as export of adult fish to areas (outside of marine protected areas) used as fishing areas, thereby enhancing fish yields of fishers.

Apo Marine Reserve is a template of community-based marine resource conservation in the world and is showcased at the famous Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, U.S.A. He continues to promote the establishment of community-based, no-take marine reserves in various parts of the country through visits to various places and through formal lectures and speeches. His initiatives have become a model of coastal resource management and conservation adopted by many countries.

Dr. Alcala has had an extensive experience in government service. He served as Deputy Executive Director of the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology from 1989 to 1991. He was Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) from 1992 to 1995, and later served as the first Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) from 1995 to 1999. He was Chief Scientist (pro bono) for the Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippine Government (2004-2007) and led three marine expeditions, one to southern Philippines and the other two (JOMSRE III, IV) to the Spratlys, South China Sea.

According to Anabelle Plantilla, national coordinator of the Biodiversity Finance Initiative, Dr. Alcala’s “position as former Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has resulted in tangible results such as the establishment of the Coastal Environment Program which has now been institutionalised within the Department. Likewise, he strongly advocated for policies to ensure that the country’s marine resources are adequately protected to guarantee adequate fisheries production for generations to come.”

Dr. Alcala works with local government units, NGOs, Peoples’ Organisations and academic institutions including colleges and universities, in programs on research and coastal and marine resource management.

He is a member or Chair of boards of the Fulbright Scholars Association, Haribon Foundation, Foundation for the Philippine Environment, PATH Foundation of the Philippines, Worldwide Fund for Nature, (WWF), Wildlife Conservation Society of the Philippines (WCSP),National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP), National Network of Quality Assurance Agencies (NNQAA), Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care of the Department of Health (DOH-PITAHC), Silliman University, CAP Family of Companies, and Centro Escolar University.

As an environmental conservationist, he is an active member of the Protected Areas Management Board (PAMB) of the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park in Sibulan, Negros Oriental and the Chairman of the Crocodylus Porosus Philippines, Inc. which has various projects concerning the conservation of Philippine crocodiles.

For his achievements in research and development in the areas of herpetology, marine science, and terrestrial and marine conservation, he received a number of awards, among them the Outstanding Sillimanian, the Outstanding Negrense Award for Negros Oriental, the Fulbright Award in Ecology, Biodiversity Award from the Field Museum, Chicago, USA, the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service in 1992, and the prestigious Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation with Garry Russ in 1999-2003.

He was elected Academician to the Philippine National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) of the Department of Science & Technology (DOST) in 2004. In 2008, The DOST chose him as one of the 50 men and women of science in the Philippines for the period 1958-2008. In September 2011, he received the Gregorio Y. Zara Award for Basic Science from the Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science, Inc.

The National Academy of Science and Technology voted him to the Order of National Scientist in December 2013, and was proclaimed National Scientist by President Benigno S. Aquino III through PD 782 dated June 6, 2014.

Today, Dr. Alcala is the Chairman of the Board of Advisers of the Silliman University-Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management (SUAKCREM) at Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Philippines. He is an Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences at Silliman University and Adjunct Professor at James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.

Turtle Islands was identified as Extremely High (EH) for biodiversity conservation when it was proclaimed as a protected area under Republic Act (RA) 7586 on 26 August 1999 as amended by RA 11038 also known as Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (ENIPAS) on 24 July 2018. In addition, Turtle Islands was declared a Turtle Island Heritage Protected Area (TIHPA) through a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of Malaysia on 31 May 1996.

Growing up in the City of Malabon, a flood-prone area in Metro Manila, Philippines, Senator Loren Legarda had witnessed first-hand the impact of environmental destruction.

Her exposure to the crippling consequences of climate change continued as she pursued a career in journalism, igniting the flame of advocacy she would continue to uphold decades after. As an award-winning broadcast journalist, Senator Legarda used the powerful platform of media to fight for environmental protection. In 1996, she hosted “Earth Link,” a pioneering environmental TV program. However, as her television career advanced in a span of over 20 years, she found herself interested, more and more, in finding solutions to the problems she was reporting on.

Determined to see her fight for environmental protection translated into tangible results, she decided to bring her cause to a much larger space – the national legislative arena. In 1998, she became the youngest woman senator of the Philippines at 38 years old.

Now in her fourth term in the Senate, Senator Legarda has become known as the most prominent environment politician and the Philippines’ foremost advocate of green development. For the past three decades, she has worked, sponsored, and authored landmark laws on environmental governance, protection of the environment, climate change, and conservation of natural resources, among other issues.

One of the earliest laws that she principally authored, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (Republic Act No. 9003), was passed into law in January 2001. Other pioneering environmental laws that she principally authored and sponsored include the Climate Change Act of 2009 (Republic Act No. 9729), the Environmental Awareness Education Act (Republic Act No. 9512), the Clean Air Act (Republic Act No. 8749), and the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act (Republic Act No. 11038), among others. 

In March 2017, Senator Legarda also successfully secured the Senate’s unanimous concurrence in the accession to the Paris Agreement, which demonstrated how she champions climate action, environmental protection, and sustainable development. She also sponsored the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships or the AFS Convention, and the agreement between the Government of the Philippines and the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management to Establish the Office of the WorldFish Center in the Philippines (ICLARM) when she was the Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Relations, among others. 

Beyond her call of duty as a senator, she spearheaded an information and education campaign on the science of climate change, its impact on people’s everyday lives and how Filipinos can avert and adapt to the changing climate. These short films include “Ulan sa Tag-Araw: Isang Dokyu-drama Ukol sa Pagbabago ng Klima” (Rains in the Summer: A Documentary Drama on Climate Change), children’s animation movie “Ligtas Likas”, “Buhos” (Downpour), “Philippine Marine Biodiversity,” “Antique: Coral Restoration Program,” and and the full-length film “Taklub” directed by Brillante Ma. Mendoza, which won the Ecumenical Jury Prize-Special Mention at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015.

Senator Legarda also collaborated with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) in the documentary “Now is the Time,” which calls on leaders and decision-makers to strive for disaster-resilient development.

In April 2014, in a bid to raise awareness of the current condition of the country’s marine life and underwater resources, Senator Legarda launched a video documentary on Philippine marine biodiversity. She said the video documentary, which was launched on Earth Day, was part of her “continuing advocacy to educate and enlighten Filipinos about marine life, how it affects our own life and livelihood, what is at stake if we lose these resources and what we can and must do to protect our seas.” 

Through the greening program she founded in 1998, “Luntiang Pilipinas” (Green Philippines), which planted two million trees on more than 500 hectares across the Philippines, Senator Legarda enjoined the participation of stakeholders in this environmental advocacy.

Over the years, Senator Legarda has emerged as a game changer for Asia, with her compelling vision for a just, safer, and greener world for all. She advocates for sustainable living in harmony with nature by seeking the path for green growth and resilient development for nations. Working with world leaders, she has pushed for locally led adaptation measures to help save our home planet and protect all of humankind.

Her inspiring advocacy for environmental protection has earned her global recognition. She has been recognized as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum and was among the Global 500 Roll of Honor of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

In addition to these achievements, she is also a Global Champion for Resilience of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), a National Adaptation Plan Champion of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a Commissioner of the Global Commission on Adaptation (GCA), the Women Political Leaders (WPL) Global Ambassador for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change and the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) Ambassador for Parliaments.

For her contribution to protecting the environment and pushing for climate change adaptation policies, the University of the Philippines (UP) chose Senator Legarda as its 2013 Distinguished Alumna for Environmental Protection and Climate Change Adaptation.

Two uninhabited atolls compose this Natural Park: the South and North Atolls, and the Jessie Beazley Reef. Atolls, having associated islets and lagoons, are separated by a 5-nautical mile channel. A lighthouse, the only other man-made structure in the Park, is found on the South Islet of the South Atoll. A Quonset hut, which serves as the station of marine park rangers, is located on the southernmost part of the North Atoll, while the Bird Islet is in its northernmost portion. Jessie Beazley Reef, which lies about 12 nautical miles north of the atolls, has an area of 45 hectares and has a small islet composed of marl.

Mts. Timpoong-Hibok-Hibok Natural Monument has unique ecotourism characteristics being the source of well-known waterfalls, cold springs, hot springs, and soda waters. It serves as watershed for the whole island of Camiguin.

The Mangyan is the dominant indigenous group in the area; they depend directly on Mts. Iglit-Baco for their food and livelihood.

The Park features waterfalls, a crater lake, and dense virgin forests.