Apo Reef the flora, the fauna and the clarity of the water and white sand. Many species can be observed in deep or shallow waters in particular, sharks, giant napoleons, mantas and murenas. The coral is in good health and growing. The Apo Reef is a protected area of the Philippines classified as a Natural park encompassing . Of the total area, comprises the Apo Reef Natural Park while the remaining constitute a buffer zone surrounding the protected area. Prior to its declaration as a protected area, Apo Reef was first officially declared a "Marine Park" by then Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos
Mount Apo mountain forests. A portion of the eastern slopes are also within the scope of the UNESCO Hydrology Environment Life and Policy (HELP) Network. The Davao HELP Network is focused on building collaboration among watershed stakeholders. In March 2015, it was taken out from the UNESCO List of Tentative Sites due to the dramatic changes (such as logging, intrusion of companies and urban and agricultural landscape, exploitation, and poaching, among others) it experienced which does not constitute the UNESCO documents that describes the park. Better conservation and a change in the content of documents was recommended by UNESCO. Mt. Apo generally