Artivist Series - Project Lawud with Christian Agregado
Philippine Dugong Conservationist
Project Lawud is a Philippines-based group concerned with the survival of the dugong, a relative of the manatee. Project Lawud was awarded the 2025 Seed Prize, by the Iris Project, a partner of the Global Fund for Children United Kingdom Trust. The Iris Project, is building a community of young people, working to protect and restore natural environments. Project Lawud is building awareness of this endangered marine mammal and strengthening conservation of Sarangani Bay, the dugong’s critical habitat in the Philippines.
Video conversation with Christian Agregado of Project Lawud…click here
What Christian talks about …
Christian Agregado talks about dugongs, why they are important, and what Project Lawud is doing to build awareness of this endangered marine mammal. The work to ensure the dugong’s survival has broad ramifications for Sarangani Bay.
Christian tells us about the island of Mindanao where Project Lawud is located: what does this area look like and what is the importance of Sarangani Bay to the island and the Philippines. Sarangani Bay is the center of daily life for nearby communities because the Bay has six coastal communities and one inland community. The livelihood of the communities rely on the ocean and Sarangani Bay is a source of food, fishing livelihood and income for many families. It is surrounded by mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrass beds which the dugong grazes. Sarangani Bay is recognized as a Marine Biodiversity Hotspot.
The average Philippino does not know much about dugongs nor are they deeply aware of the importance for their survival. The dugong feeds almost exclusively on seagrass which helps maintain the healthy seagrass beds. By grazing they help promote healthy seagrass beds and biodiversity which support fish, invertebrates and other marine life. So if the dugong disappears seagrass stands can be overgrown or decline which would harm the entire coastal ecosystem. And that is the role of a keystone species to maintain the health of the seagrass.
The Iris Project Award - Project Lawud
Show Notes
00:04 Pam Ferris-Olson Today on the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast on womenmindthewater.com, I'm speaking with Christian Agregado of Project Lawud. It’s a Philippines-based group, concerned with the survival of the dugong, a relative of the manatee. Project Lawud was awarded the 2025 Seed Prize, by the Iris Project, a partner of the Global Fund for Children United Kingdom Trust. The Iris Project, is building a community of young people, working to protect and restore natural environments.
00:40 Today, we’re speaking with Christian Agregado about dugongs, why they are important, and what Project Lawud is doing to build awareness of this endangered marine mammal, and strengthen conservation of Sarangani Bay, the dugong’s critical habitat in the Philippines.
01:01 Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast on womenmindthewater.com, engages artivists in conversation about their work, and explores their connection with water. Through their stories, Wo(men) Mind the Water hopes to inspire, and encourage action, to protect water and all the creatures that depend on it.
01:21 I am talking with Christian Agregado of Project Lawud. Christian and his team, are working to safeguard dugongs, Sarangani Bay, and empower the local community to participate, in the Bay’s long-term stewardship. It was recognized in 2025 by the Iris Project. The Seed Prize which they awarded Project Lawud, supports the vision and innovation of its leaders, who want to build a sustainable future for the homely dugong. The dugong is a docile plant-eating marine mammal. The work to ensure the dugong’s survival, has broad ramifications for Sarangani Bay.
02:03 Welcome Christian. Congratulations on winning the Iris Project Seed Prize and thank you for joining us. For listeners who don’t realize it, the Philippines is an archipelago nation, located in the western Pacific Ocean. Christian is talking with me from nearly 8000 miles away, and in a time zone that is 15 hours ahead of me in Denver.
02:29 I’d like to begin by asking Christian to tell us about the island of Mindanao, where he is located. What does this area look like, and what is the importance of Sarangani Bay to the island and the Philippines?
02:47 Christian Agregado All right and thank you so much Pam and hello everyone. Ah yes, the Project Lawud is based in Mindanao which is the second largest island in the Philippines. Mindanao has a very diverse landscape from mountains, forests, farmlands, and a long coastline. Mindanao is also known as a food basket because Mindanao is also a major source of rice, fruits, and seafoods, of course. We have a rich mix of cultures indigenous, [unintelligible] and heritage and coastal life. In Mindanao, Project Lawud is specifically located at Sarangani Bay which is located in southern Mindanao. The center of daily life for nearby communities because Sarangani Bay has six coastal communities and one inland community. So the livelihood of the communities rely on the ocean. Sarangani Bay also is a source of food, fishing livelihood and income for many families. We are surrounded by mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrass beds which the dugong grazes. Sarangani Bay is recognized as a Marine Biodiversity Hotspot because of the rich biodiversity that we have here. Seagrass meadows support endangered species like the dugong. Coral reefs protect the coastline from erosion and the storms and is important for food security.
04:32 Pam Ferris-Olson Christian you are one of the five core members of Project Lawud. Why did you become interested in the conservation of Sarangani Bay, and how did that lead to the founding of Project Lawud?
04:44 Christian Agregado I grew up in an inland community in Sarangani Bay and not at a coastal area. Because I wasn’t exposed to coastal life growing up, I was always curious about the ocean and coastal communities. So, after high school I chose to take the path of marine biology. Through my studies I learned how rich Sarangani Bay is in marine resources. I also learned about the presence of dugongs which really stood out for me. In my last year of college Kuya Diofel messaged me about a dugong conservation project, which is Project Lawud, and without any hesitation I said “Yes” and became the second member of the team. After that Kuya Diofel invited other members and that is how Project Lawud was formed. And again for context, Lawud means ‘vast and deep ocean.”
05:41 Pam Ferris-Olson Okay, so you lived inland and unaware of the dugong. How much do you think the average Philippine citizen know about the dugongs?
05:50 Christian Agregado In my opinion, the average Philippino does not know much about dugongs nor are they deeply aware of the importance for their survival.
06:01 Dugongs are not accurately represented in mainstream media. They are often villainized in movies which exaggerate their features that portray them as hideous or frightening which they are not. And this kind of portrayal contributes to the lack of appreciation and concern for dugongs among the population. Media plays a powerful role in shaping public perception. And it should be used to promote dugong conservation instead of reinforcing negative stereotypes.
06:37 Pam Ferris-Olson So I have seen manatees in the wild and I know that they are vegetarian and they are very, very gentle. So how are they villainized in the Philippines and how are they seen as monsters?
06:52 Christian Agregado So yes, we have a superhero movie here in the Philippines that talks about some superhero and everything fictional. And the dugong, they portray the dugong as ‘Hideous One’ with a very dark colors and exaggerated features such as a tentacle which is not accurately true.
07:14 Pam Ferris-Olson Right.
07:15 Christian Agregado And yes large eyes. Everything is exaggerated in the dugong features. Just so for the dugong to look like a villain. Perhaps and for them to have a reference to the dugong.
07:30 Pam Ferris-Olson Very interesting. So why is the term keystone species a good descriptor for the dugong?
07:38 Christian Agregado The dugong feeds almost exclusively on seagrass which helps maintain the healthy seagrass beds. By grazing they help promote healthy seagrass beds and biodiversity which support fish, invertebrates and other marine life. So if the dugong disappears seagrass stands can be overgrown or decline which would harm the entire coastal ecosystem. And that is the role of a keystone species to maintain the health of the seagrass.
08:11 Pam Ferris-Olson So how difficult is it to locate a dugong?
08:14 Christian Agregado It is very difficult to locate a dugong. Considering that we have only a couple a number of them here in Sarangani Bay. And so even if we fly a drone the whole day it is not guaranteed for us to record one or to spot one. But last January 13, luckily we recorded two dugong swimming together and that fueled us and thrilled about our upcoming data gathering in the near months. Dugongs are really elusive in nature and considering that they don’t want noise and Sarangani Bay is made up of coastal communities and there are a lot of boats because of the fisher folk’s boats that adds to the dugongs elusiveness. It is not guaranteed to spot one within a day but it is guaranteed to spot dugongs within a week.
09:20 Pam Ferris-Olson I had no idea how endangered they were. What you are up against, that they’re not easy to find. Have you been able to get in the water with one?
09:30 Christian Agregado Unfortunately not. Not yet but maybe in the near future. But here in Sarangani Bay we don’t allow to swim with a dugong because we don’t have an established study yet about the standard methods to swim with them. And maybe in the near future I will be the one who will do that and I would be happy to do so.
And yes, I haven’t seen dugong in my entire life. Like with my own real eyes and real time experience. But I am still hopeful to help them with their depleted population here in Sarangani Bay.
10:10 Pam Ferris-Olson Oh I wish you much luck! Can you tell us why dugongs are endangered? What caused them to become so sparse?
10:18 Christian Agregado Dugongs are considered endangered and critically endangered here in the Philippines because of a lot of factors. Some are environmental factors such as climate change while others are man-made factors such as pollution, noise pollution and garbage pollution. And the continued development of coastal communities which affects the seagrass beds. And if it effects the seagrass beds it affects the dugong.
While we had our interview with the coastal communities way back last year, we discovered that through their ancestors they often touched dugong for their medicine purposes because they believed that the bones of the dugong are medicine. When they pulverize the bones or when they soak it in the water for a long time they believe it will help with their illness.
Most of the time we heard the news about dugong stranding which is from net strangulation, fishing net strangulation, and microplastic ingestion or plastic pollution, I mean plastics ingested in their bodies which affects their movement and everything.
11:50 Due to the dugongs reproductive rate, they reproduce very slowly which is one of the reasons they are very vulnerable to population decline. Female dugong usually reach maturity at the age of nine to 17 years like that is a long time for them.
12:08 Pam Ferris-Olson Yes.
12:09 Christian Agregado And for the males its nine to 15 years. And dugong have a polygamous mating system. Several males may compete to mate with a single female but that doesn’t guarantee that their reproductive rate would spike. And so the female usually gives birth to one calf every 3 to 7 years.
12:37 Pam Ferris-Olson Oh my.
12:39 Christian Agregado That’s a very long time for them to regenerate their population. And they can only have one calf at a time. Those are the reasons why the dugong are critically endangered here in the Philippines and in the whole world.
12:57 Pam Ferris-Olson
13:17 Christian Agregado I just want to do something for them because they don’t have any voice to speak up about their concern and as of now there were no studies about them. And considering that dugong is the flagship species of Sarangani Bay, I want, and I know I can do something and I want to do something about it. I want to start to act now because as of now we still have them. And if I don’t act now, if I don’t act today. If I act tomorrow or the following year we might not have them anymore. There were no chance for them to reproduce and for their population to recover. And with that, even if I live in an inland community I want to conserve the population of the dugong so that my community, my local community, in an inland town, will have a chance to see them for themselves. And for the future generations to see them and not just hear [about] them their mommy and daddy or grandpa. And that fuels my passion to help the conservation of the dugong here in our Sarangani Bay. For me, my community, and for the dugong.
14:46 Pam Ferris-Olson So at the end of every podcast, I ask guests to offer advice to listeners on how they can make a difference. Christian, reflecting on your passion and inspiration for studying the dugong can you give some to other people who want to be a solution make a difference to a problem?
15:20 Christian Agregado To those who want to be part of the solution my advise would be to start where you are, with what you have, stay committed. You don’t have to be a scientist or a policy maker or an activist to be heard and to be make a real impact. What matters most is the intention. Learn about the ecosystem, the species in your community. Because conservation is strongest when it is local, when it is grounded in real people’s lives. And remember that caring is already a form of action. Choosing to care in the world that often prioritizes convenience and profits is a very brave first step. If you keep learning, caring. Caring for even the simplest lifeform on Earth, collaborating, and showing, you are already part of the solution. You just need to continuing doing so.
16:24 Pam Ferris-Olson Well thank you Christian. First I want to say “Bravo!” I definitely am inspired and will hope very hard for you that you have much success in what you are doing. And I also want to thank you for sharing what you have to give to my audience on the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast. I wish you and everyone at Project Lawud, much success with finding the dugong and studying them and help to preserve Sarangani Bay.
17:04 And I want my listeners to know that I’ve been speaking with Christian Agregado of Project Lawud. Christian is the latest guest on the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast. The series can be viewed on womenmindthewater.com and on YouTube. A transcript is available, on womenmindthewater.com and an audio-only version, can be heard on iTunes and Spotify. Wo(men) Mind the Water is grateful to Jaine Rice for the use of her song Women of Water. All rights for the Wo(men) Mind the Water name and logo, belong to Pam Ferris-Olson. This is Pam Ferris-Olson.