Apo Reef Natural Park in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro is the largest coral atoll-like reef in the Philippines and the second largest contiguous coral reef in the world. It is a submerged platform that is composed of 34 sq. km sub triangular northern and southern atoll-like reefs separated by a 30-m deep channel that is open to the west (Guidebook to Protected Areas of the Philippines Vol. 2).
It is a Protected Area under the category of a Natural Park which means that it is a relatively large area not materially altered by human activity where extractive resource uses are not allowed and is maintained to protect outstanding natural and scenic areas of national or international significance for scientific, educational, and recreational use.
It was established as Natural Park under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act in 1996, added to the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2006 and legislated alongside with 93 other protected areas under the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (E-NIPAS) Act of 2018.
Get to know more about Apo Reef Natural Park at https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5033/ and http://www.sablayan.net/apo-reef-natural-park/
You may also visit the official facebook page of DENR-Biodiversity Management Bureau https://www.facebook.com/denrbiodiversity/@denrbiodiversity