Guardian of the Sea
Project Terra — AI-Enabled Marine Conservation for the Philippines
The Philippines — a country of 7,641 islands at the heart of the Coral Triangle, the most biodiverse marine region on Earth. A place where mangroves once protected coastlines and communities, where coral reefs sustained millions, and where both are disappearing.
More than half of the country's mangroves have been destroyed. Over 90% of its coral reefs are in fair-to-poor condition. And the communities that depend on these ecosystems are the least equipped to monitor and protect them.
Project Terra is an independent initiative building open-source technology for Philippine marine conservation. We are not the Bantay Dagat — they are the volunteers who have been protecting these waters long before us, often for reasons far more immediate than philosophy: their families depend on the sea.
We named this site in their honor because they represent something we believe in — that the people closest to the problem are the ones who should have the best tools to solve it.
To build and deploy technology that empowers Philippine coastal communities to monitor, protect, and restore the marine ecosystems their lives depend on.
The Bantay Dagat volunteer patrolling a marine sanctuary in a borrowed boat — not because of a mission statement, but because the sea feeds their family. The marine biologist classifying reef photos one at a time because there's no budget for better tools. The coastal community replanting mangroves by hand because they remember what the shoreline looked like before the typhoon.
They have their own reasons. We're here to give them better tools.
This website is under active development. We welcome your feedback, suggestions, and corrections — especially from those who know these waters and communities firsthand.