intro

Dugong are hunted for food throughout their wildlife range, usually for their meat and blubber. also, the seagrass beds which the dugong depend on for food are threatened by eutrophication caused by agricultural and industrial run off. Due to their shallow water feeding habits, dugong are frequently injured or killed by collisions with motor vessels. Because of their large size, they do not have many natural predators. They only have large ones such as sharks, killer whales and salt water crocodiles.
The US and Japanese government want to build a new base on a coral reef close to Henoko, in Nago prefecture, Okinawa. This plan has generated strong protests from Okinawans who are concerned that the local environment, home to the dugong, would be ruined.
Around the waters of Papua New Guinea, natives have been known for hunting dugongs. However, they also hunt dugong's predators, such as sharks.

aim to save dugong?

In September 1994, a WWF-Marine Program officer and a Fuji TV filming crew came to Club Paradise to do a documentary on Palawan wildlife. By chance, they were able to record a 30-minute underwater video footage of a dugong feeding on seagrasses off the island. The footage, revealing interesting aspects of the animal behavior, prompted the WWF to conduct a study of the wild dugongs. This study was subsequently funded by Kabang Kalikasan ng Pilipinas-WWF-Philippines and Toba Aquarium of Japan with the assistance of Pawikan Conservation Project-PAWB-DENR and Club Paradise . The project is titled 'Dimakya Dugong Conservation Project'.


The project aims to:
1) determine the seagrass distribution in Busuanga area
2) identify the dugong feeding grounds and characterize them based on seagrass type, habitat conditions, etc.
3)gather physical and biological data concerning the dugong.
4) disseminate information on the dugong and conservation efforts by giving seminars, slide/video presentation and information-education campaign (IEC) materials.


Most of the project's activities are conducted in Dimakya Island and its surrounding communities. Club Paradise, believing that the resort's greatest asset is its natural beauty, has been instituting measures to maintain the ecological integrity of Dimakya Island. Its heavy support on the Dugong Conservation Project is only one of the many manifestations of its dedication to the propagation of environment and tourism working hand in hand.