World Vision helps plant 20,000 mangroves in Aklan village

Joy Maluyo

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World Vision helps plant 20,000 mangroves in Aklan village
World Vision mobilizes 96 people in a community in Aklan to plant mangroves that can help improve their livelihood

AKLAN, Philippines – Novie Sucgang was born and raised in the island of Tabon, Batan, Aklan. She was raised by her father, who depended on the sea for a living. Now with a family of her own, her husband also relies on fishing to support their 4 children.

“The sea has been a big blessing to us. Most of the people in our village are fisherfolks – only few of us in the village have farm lands,” she said.

Novie noted how climate change is threatening the safety of their thriving fishing village.

As part of the barangay council, Novie has the responsibility to look after the village’s welfare. Elders in the village say that 20 years ago the shoreline was almost 200 meters away from the village.

When Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in November 2013, it eroded 3 to 4 meters of the shoreline, making the sea much closer to the houses.

DRR Coordinator Frank Salindato shows some of the 2,000 reserved mangrove seedlings. Photo by Joy Maluyo/World Vision

“When I was growing up, we were really far from the sea. Now, there are 80 houses that are within 40 meters to the shoreline,” Novie explains.

She tells of her greatest fear: to see the shoreline right on her doorstep. The sea is their provider but she’s well aware that if things continue the way they have been, it might also displace the more than 800 residents of the village. Something needs to be done. 

Mangrove reforestation 

During the 4th ASEAN Heritage Parks Conference, Filiberto Pollisco, policy and research specialist of ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), stressed the importance of mangroves against global warming. Mangroves produce organic biomass (carbon), contributing 1,800-4,200 grams of carbon per square meter per year. They not only reduce organic pollution necessary to combat global warming, but they also help in the protection of coastal areas.

According to the Mangrove Management Handbook produced by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), “mangroves protect coastal areas and communities from storm surges, waves, tidal currents and typhoons. The crown and stem of mangroves serve as physical barriers. Their specialized roots trap and hold sediments and siltation from the uplands.” In addition to protection, mangroves have also been helpful in the fishing community, serving as refuge for young fish, shrimp, crabs and other sea animals.

“We’ve always wanted to plant mangroves but given that most of us are surviving on a day-to-day basis, we cannot always mobilize people to do the work,” explains Novie.

World Vision, through its commitment to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) shouldered the mobilization cost. It was able to get 96 people in the community to do the task. DENR contributed by providing technical support in identifying mangrove species best suited in the area.

Over 7 days, the community searched for seedlings on the island coming up with more than 20,000 seedlings. Around 70% of the seedlings are piapi (Avicennia marina). Two other species were the pagatpat (Sonneratia alba) and bakhaw (Rhizophora species). 

“DENR and even the people in the community recommended piapi because it’s the species that can thrive in the kind of soil in the island,” says Franklin Salindato, DRR Coordinator for Panay. 

More than just planting trees 

To ensure optimum survival rate, the seedlings were transferred to plastic bags and were kept in temporary nurseries.

“We can’t uproot the seedlings and immediately transfer them to our identified location. It’s good that the people we’ve mobilized have already been trained in mangrove reforestation before so they also knew how to set up nurseries,” says Salindato. 

Within 3 weeks, transplanting began. A buffer of 2,000 more seedlings were reserved to make sure that the mangroves that will die will immediately be replaced, ensuring the necessary amount of mangroves will be standing to provide the protection intended.

While Salindato is optimistic about the project, he has seen time and time again how people can be excited initially, and eventually lose interest.

The ongoing maintenance of the project is a concern, especially when World Vision leaves the area. A Memorandum of Agreement with the local government is planned to ensure that the program is sustained long-term.

“We already have an existing resolution on mangrove reforestation. We just need to be firm in the implementation. Likewise, we’ve dedicated budget for maintenance.” Novie tells.

“We’re hoping for the best result. We’re committed to battling soil erosion,” Novie says. “We understand that this is hard work but we’re willing to work on it. After all, we want to grow old in this place.” – Rappler.com 

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