The Philippines marine environment ranks among the top 25 “biodiversity hotspots” on the planet- an area of extreme species richness, biodiversity, and endemicity. The area faces an overwhelming increase in population growth that has strained resources in the past. These stressors necessitated an integrated intervention that takes into account population pressures when tackling conservation issues. Consequently, in 2001, an initiative was launched to explore integrated coastal management models that incorporate reproductive health interventions that can slow population growth and address the high unmet need for family planning in the coastal regions of the Philippines. The result was the Integrated Population and Coastal Resource Management (IPOPCORM) project, created by to achieve three critical results. The framework calls for decreasing population pressures in coastal communities in an effort to reduce fishing to sustainable levels. Community-based subprojects were created to achieve the desired results, including family planning. These subprojects targeted a multitude of sectors, working on paralegal training for fish/forest wardens, establishment of marine protected areas, alternative livelihood development, family planning outreach, and AIDS prevention education.

Scale up between 2001 and 2003 led to the coverage of 18 Philippine municipalities, and more program investment. Evaluation has shown that the IPOPCORM project has lead to a better understanding of the links between coastal conservation and population pressures in the Local Government Units. The integrated coastal management framework has also provided understanding amongst coastal families that it is necessary to limit family size to achieve food security and better general welfare.