Puerto Galera: A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Since 1977

Puerto Galera is famous for its beaches — but its most important title is quieter and older: since 1977, it has been a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve, one of the earliest in the Philippines. That single designation is the reason the mountains, forests, mangroves and reefs here are protected as one connected whole.

Here’s what that means, why this small town earned it, and how to experience it responsibly.

What a Biosphere Reserve is

UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme recognises places that show how people and nature can thrive together — sites that protect biodiversity while still supporting the communities who live there. It’s not a “look but don’t touch” park; it’s a model for sustainable living alongside a rare ecosystem. Puerto Galera was inscribed in 1977, making it one of the country’s pioneering biosphere reserves.

Why Puerto Galera earned it

Most places have one signature landscape. Puerto Galera packs several into one small municipality:

• Mountains & rainforest — the slopes of Mt. Malasimbo and the forested interior.
• Mangroves & coast — coastal wetlands that shelter young fish and birdlife.
• Coral reefs & seagrass — the shallows that ring the peninsula.

Having mountain, forest, mangrove and reef stitched together in one place — each depending on the others — is exactly the kind of living system the biosphere programme exists to protect.

On the richest ocean on Earth

The reserve sits on the Verde Island Passage, which a landmark 2005 study by marine scientists Kent Carpenter and Victor Springer identified as the “Center of the Center of Marine Shorefish Biodiversity” — the single richest concentration of shorefish species on the planet, at the heart of the Coral Triangle. Puerto Galera is also the only Philippine bay in the international “Most Beautiful Bays of the World” club.

A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve on the richest stretch of ocean on Earth — that’s a rare thing to be able to snorkel off a public beach.

What it means for visitors

Being inside a biosphere reserve is part of what makes a trip here special — and it comes with a simple responsibility:

• Don’t touch or take coral, shells or marine life — even “dead” coral is part of the reef.
• Use reef-safe sunscreen where you can, and never anchor on coral.
• Take your rubbish with you; support operators who dive and tour responsibly.
• Choose local, community-based experiences — that’s the “people and nature together” idea in practice.

Where to feel it

Snorkel the Coral Gardens in Muelle Bay, walk the mangroves, trek up toward Mt. Malasimbo and the Iraya-Mangyan village in Talipanan, or simply dive the reefs off Sabang. Every one of them is part of the same protected system.

One title among many

The biosphere reserve is the thread that ties Puerto Galera together — from the galleon-era harbour to the beaches, reefs and waterfalls. See the whole picture in our Famous places & landmarks guide.

References & sources

• UNESCO — Puerto Galera, Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)
• Carpenter, K.E. & Springer, V.G. (2005). “The center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity: the Philippine Islands.” Environmental Biology of Fishes 72, 467–480.
• The World’s Most Beautiful Bays — Les Plus Belles Baies du Monde (official association)