Project: Natural Capital Accounting of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems, component project 2 under the Resource Inventory, Valuation and Policy in Ecosystem Services under Threat (Re-INVEST): The Case of the West Philippine Sea program

The Office of Public Relations (OPR) is UPLB's general information and communication resource unit through publications, media liaisoning, conduct of special projects and events, audiovisual support communication, and a visitors’ assistance program. As a student assistant, I was involved in tasks revolving around research, writing, production, and dissemination of multi-media materials. I would conduct desktop research to complete databases relevant to the office. I have also written articles on salient events around campus and assisted in select events where the office provided media coverage.

The SIBOL EVES Database is is a collection of studies that focuses on the economic valuation of ecosystem services (EVES) that was conducted in the Philippines, especially in the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS), and comparable sites in the ASEAN region. The main purpose of the database is to aid researchers and analysts in using the benefits transfer approach, which makes use of values from valuation studies in other sites as a substitute to primary data gathering. It organizes empirical estimates of ecosystem services in ASEAN countries and also acts as motivation to conduct more site-level work to further expand the literature.As an intern, my tasks involved reviewing, summarizing, and organizing studies to be included in the database; encoding and transferring data into the main database website; and beta testing the pilot database website to ensure that it was ready to be presented to relevant stakeholders.