DENR urges public: Protect mangrove

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 has called on the public to continue protecting the mangrove plantations on Olango Island in Lapu-Lapu City as part of the observance of the Earth Month.

DENR-7 Director Emma Melana has urged coastal communities to help in protecting the mangroves and participate in the maintenance as these provide shelter for local and migratory wildlife species and serve as roosting and foraging grounds.

“We want to make sure that our coastal areas are maintained by conducting a regular mangrove planting, and maintenance, and coastal cleanup by enlisting the assistance of the academe, people’s organizations, local communities and other stakeholders,” she said.

Mangroves are salt tolerant, woody, seed-bearing plants that range in size from small shrubs to tall trees and occur along sheltered intertidal coastlines, or in estuaries and lagoons.

“Although mangroves occur on saline soils, they have the usual plant requirements of freshwater, nutrients, and oxygen that is why maintenance is part of ensuring their survival,” said Melana.

At least 34 out of 70 mangrove tree species in the world are found in the country and a hectare of healthy mangrove ecosystem produces about 1.08 tons of fish per year.

 These mangroves provide nursery grounds for fish, prawns and crabs, and support fisheries production in coastal waters. Covering a vast area of mangrove forest is the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Lapu-Lapu City that spreads on over 1,000 hectares.

Luther Dejadena, the assistant protected area superintendent of the sanctuary, said one of the key concerns monitored in the area is the rampant mangrove cutting for firewood.

This 1,030-hectare wildlife sanctuary, considered a key biodiversity area, is located at the southern tip of Olango Island.

Dejadena said that other major activities in this sanctuary, aside from protecting and monitoring its biodiversity, are the eco-tourism activities like bird watching, camping and site seeing, boat paddling and mangrove tour.

He said this sanctuary is an important wildlife area since its rich coastal wetlands served as an important staging, feeding, and wintering area and temporary shelter for both the migratory shore birds and resident wildlife species.

This is because, he explained, the Olango Island lies within the East-Asian Australasian Flyway – a route taken by migratory birds to and from the breeding ground in the Northern China, Japan, Alaska and Siberia. (FREEMAN)