DENR-7, groups unite in mangrove planting

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 conducted simultaneous mangrove planting in six coastal sites in Central Visayas yesterday.

For the whole region, DENR-7 planted over 13,000 mangrove propagates in observance of the World Environment Day themed “Raise your voice, not the sea level” yesterday.

There were about four appropriate species of mangroves planted, namely, Bungalon (Avicennia marina), Bakhawan Bato (Rhizophora stylosa), Bakhawn Laki (Rhizophora apiculata), and Bakhawan Bae (Rhizophora mucronata).

DENR-7 Regional Technical Director for Forestry Eduardo Inting said that mangrove planting is ideal for now since the wet season has not started.

For DENR-7 Regional Executive Director Isabelo Montejo, the activity was vital as high waves or storm tides can quickly erode coastlines and damage structures.

“Mangroves are important as they anchor on the soil and also absorb and dissipate the energy of the waves by 70 percent thus slowing their passage in land and preventing significant damage to the coastal communities,” Montejo said.

In Cebu, mangrove planting was done in Sitio Labangon; Tulic, Argao; Cabiangkon Pinamungajan; Dawis Norte, Carmen and Inoburan, Naga City. The activity was done in Calayugan Sur, Loon, Bohol; and Ulo in Siquijor.

Montejo said that everyone should take part in protecting mangroves since they provide nursery grounds for fish, prawns and crabs, and support fisheries production in coastal waters.

Meanwhile, with the aim to renew partnerships to further protect reefs in Central Visayas, it being at the center of the world’s “Coral Triangle,” stakeholders are set to gather on June 9 at the Philippine Naval Forces Central compound.

Various groups will converge and celebrate starting with a mass, followed by a fellowship lunch and with mangrove planting and team-building activities to strengthen the partnership among the core organizers, said Astrid Lim of CT Initiative in Cebu.

The Philippines, being at the apex of the Coral Triangle, is a partner-nation of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF).

The triangle also covers the exclusive economic zones of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.

CTI-CFF is a multilateral cooperation among six member countries to safeguard the Coral Triangle, which is home to more than one third of the world’s coral reefs, including over 600 different species of reef-building coral and 3,000 species of reef fish.

These coral ecosystems provide food and income for more than 100 million people working in marine-based industries throughout the region.

“At the apex of the Coral Triangle or the world’s center of marine biodiversity is the Philippines. We are one of the 18 megadiverse countries that contain 75 percent of the global biodiversity. And yet, we too are one of the hottest of the marine biodiversity hotspots in the world,” Montejo pointed out.

According to a study by the World Resources Institute called “Reefs at Risk,” about 85 percent of the reefs in the Coral Triangle are in peril.

It noted that threats to the region come from overfishing, watershed pollution and coastal development.

Factors such as climate change and ocean acidification increase the number of threatened reefs to 90 percent, the study added.

Montejo noted that when the multilateral cooperation was launched in 2009, the Philippine government immediately came out with an executive order adopting the country’s CTI-CFF National Plan of Action (NPOA), which includes five goals, 10 targets and 60 priority actions.

The National CTI Coordinating Committee was also created to provide guidance in implementing the NPOA and to serve as the country’s focal point for the implementation of the CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action.

The NPOA serves as the framework of the country’s efforts in the protection and conservation of its coastal and marine resources. (FREEMAN)