Monday, May 14, 2007 Sarangani gets mangrove rehab
MORE than 200 seedlings of mangroves were planted last week in a coastal village of Maasim, Sarangani province, as part of measures to conserve the marine-rich Sarangani Bay.
The planting activity in Sitio Asnalang, Barangay Tinoto, was in line with the province's celebration of Ocean Month, participated by the Philippine Environmental Governance (EcoGov) project of the United States Agency for International Development, Department of Environment, the local broadcasters' association, the local government unit of Maasim.
Join Sun.Star's online hotline with Comelec spokesman James Jimenez from May 14 (Monday), 6 a.m. to May 15 (Tuesday), 6 a.m. (RP time) and report poll-related incidents in your area.
Around 60 individuals from these groups took part in planting bakhaw (Rhizophora mucronata, Rhizophora apiculata and Rhizophora stylosa) and signed a manifesto of commitment to protect the mangrove area.
It was done to help bring back the mangrove cover in Sitio Asnalang and would be an ongoing activity.
So far, some 11 hectares of mangrove areas have been rehabilitated. A nursery has already been established in the area where people who would like to help in the planting could get seedlings.
The mangrove planting activity was an offshoot of the partnership forged between the local Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas and the local government unit during a workshop on good environmental governance conducted in January this year for media practitioners and government information officers.
Sitio Asnalang is a predominantly Muslim-populated community. As part of the EcoGov project, KBP and Maasim LGU’s commitment not only in environmental protection but also in nurturing and understanding different cultures of people, an interfaith and cultural dialogue was incorporated in the activity wherein the community had the chance to voice out their concerns, plans and dreams for their sitio.
This was done so that other people, through the media, could understand the local community's aspirations and perhaps be able to provide its members the needed assistance to better their lives.
Councilman Damsali Sapayani of Barangay Tinoto said their community is generally peaceful, "with Christians, Muslims and B'laans living in harmony with each other."
Being part of the community, he also expressed their desire to co-manage the mangrove area in Sitio Asnalang and he pledged, in behalf of his people, that as residents of the area, they will help in looking after the mangroves planted and they themselves will continue planting bakhaw in Sitio Asnalang.
The rehabilitation of Maasim's mangrove areas is part of the LGU’s forest land use plan, developed with assistance from EcoGov project and the DENR-Central Mindanao.
Jurgenne Primavera, senior scientist of the Aquaculture Department of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, said mangrove is an important part of the marine ecosystem.
She noted the deadly tsunami that hit parts of Asia in recent years, which killed tens of thousands of people and destroyed billions of dollars worth of properties, could have been mitigated had there been sufficient mangrove areas in the devastated countries.
She stressed that mangroves act as protective shields that would cushion the impact of giant waves.
Aside from serving as "defense barrier," mangroves have lots of other traditional uses, according to Primavera, a recipient of a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation.
For instance, the bark of Avicennia alba can serve as astringent and its resinous secretion for birth control, she said.
Primavera said the leaves of Excoecaria agallocha can be used to treat epilepsy, its sap for ulcers and toothaches.
Other mangrove varieties, according to her, can be used to treat diarrhea and dysentery, to groom hair, as food ingredient, and as skin cosmetic.
But on top of all that, Primavera said mangroves are important to keep marine biodiversity in place.
According to another expert, Dr. Oliver Coroza, Conservation International's mapping scientist, mangroves serve as spawning ground of crabs, shrimps and various kinds of fishes.
"It's really important for communities to conserve mangroves," he said. (BSS)
