36 
THE CORAL TRIANGLE: HEARST BIODIVERSITY EXPEDITION 
ipino partners operating side by side with Americans in a spirit of mutual respect and trust. The 
number of Filipino scientists exceeded the number of Academy scientists. There are multiple ben¬ 
efits for inviting partnership at such an extensive level. The great locality-specific expertise of Fil¬ 
ipino partners allowed for much greater scientific success. Having Filipino scientists, students, 
educators, and media involved with outreach brought immediate local credibility. The audaciously 
large scale of the expedition, in tenus of the number of participants and the taxonomic and habitat 
diversity, led to imique discoveries, but also necessitated Filipino expertise and help with logistics. 
Last but not least, the Filipino partnerships facilitated obtaining necessary collecting permits. 
Inability to secure peimits is a deal breaker for any expedition. It should be noted that, when we 
wrote the original proposal and budget, we underestimated Filipino interest and desire to partici¬ 
pate and how much support they expected and needed, which in turn had logistical and budgetary 
implications. 
This expedition clearly changed the model — not “parachute scientists” but full partners with 
an integrated approach to research, animal husbandry, education, and conservation, with intention¬ 
al communications between and among multiple stakeholders. We hope it becomes a model that is 
adopted broadly, not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is the only way that 
the research, education and conservation work of museums can fundamentally alter the path to 
mass extinctions on which we are cunently embarked. 
The Power of Collaboration 
A meaningful demonstration of the collaborative significance of the 2011 Hearst Philippine 
Biodiversity Expedition can be found in the following list of people who were indispensable to the 
origination, implementation, and successhil conclusion of the expedition. 
First acknowledgments go to Margaret and Will Hearst, without whose generosity the expedi¬ 
tion would not have occuiTed. We also received generous in-kind support from Philippines Airlines, 
the Dusit Thani Hotel in Manila, and Wayfair Tours of Manila. All of the friends and partners who 
helped make the expedition a success are literally too numerous to mention here, but special 
acknowledgment must be given to: Secretary of Agi'iculture Proceso J. Alcala; Philippine Consul 
General Marciano Paynor and the Consular staff in San Francisco; BFAR directors Malcom I. 
Sarmiento and Attorney Asis G Perez; BFAR colleagues, especially Attorney Analiza Vitug, 
Ludivina Labe, Alma Dickson, Captain Emaldo T. Cawaling, Rafael Ramiscal, and Loida Cainglit; 
PAWB director Mundita Lim; U.S. Embassy staff, especially Dovas Saulys and Maria Theresa N. 
Villa; staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs; UP administrators and colleagues including UP 
Presidents Emerlinda Roman and Alfredo Pasqual, Vice President Giselle Concepcion, Doctors 
Malou McGlone, Perry Ong, Edwino Fernando, Daniel Lagimzad, Jun Ireneo Lit, .Ir., and Marilou 
Nicolas; staff of the National Museum of the Philippines, especially, Director .leremy Bams and 
Marivene Manuel Santos; Benito Tan; Jessie de los Reyes; Marites Pastorfide; Sol Solleza; Boy 
Venus; Joy Napehas; Peri Paleracio; Alexis Principe; Ditto de la Rosa; Darwin Raymundo; May 
Pagsinohin; Susan Po-Rufino; Ipat Luna; Enrnique Nunez; Jen Edrial; Anne Hazel Javier; Jayo 
Castilla; Arvel Malubag; Malou Babilonia; Mada Rivera; and certainly not least of all, Maiy Lou 
Salcedo. We also thank our colleagues at the Academy and friends and families who picked up the 
slack while the expeditioners were expeditioning. And lastly, we thank our fellow Academy team¬ 
mates on the expedition. This article and the partnerships of the expedition are dedicated to the 
memories and life works of Dan Lagunzad, Leonardo Co, and Gerry Ortega, our fallen comrades. 
