Thursday, May 15, 2008 Mangroves development council formed By Raymond C. Garcia
MINALIN -- The Advocacy for the Development of Central Luzon (ADCL) and the local government unit here led the creation of the Pampanga coastal area mangroves development council recently.
The council, which includes various groups, is mainly aimed at protecting the newly planted and the earlier planted mangrove seedlings within the various areas in the coastal Pampanga.
Earlier, the ADCL, together with volunteers from the Asian College of Science and Technology, led the planting of almost 10,000 mangrove seedlings along the shore of the Pampanga River in Barangay Consuelo, Macabebe.
“We would just like to reiterate the importance of the coastal areas and the importance of mangroves because they act as natural habitats among the different water creatures,” said ADCL vice president Sonny Dobles.
Dobles also said the council that will be formed among the present representatives from various concerned agencies will act as protectors not only to the mangroves but also to the marine life including other natural resources.
Provincial Board (PB) environment committee chairman Ricardo Yabut lauded the ADCL for the spearheading such campaign and for its efforts to care for the environment.
“As we can see, there is an active participation between the ADCL and the concerned municipalities. We see no reason for it not to become successful,” Yabut said.
Reynante Santos of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said protection is very important among our natural resources especially on marine life.
“We have to do our part since we know the risks of every endeavor that we engage into. We have the natural calamities and the so called man-made disasters,” Santos said.
He also reported about the successful mangrove planting in Sasmuan in about 25 hectare area even pointing to protection being done by the concerned people there as the main reason for its success.
