By: Ike Seneres

Many scientists have concluded that mangrove forests could become strong buffers to counter storm surges and rising sea levels, but with a caveat that what should be planted are not just small patches of mangrove trees here and there, but large, very large hectarages of mangrove forests that are here, there and everywhere. I do not mean to split hairs with the DENR, but I think that there are two reasons why the National Greening Program (NGP) failed. Firstly, they were simply “planting” the trees but were not “caring” for them. And secondly, they were not planting enough of the trees to make a largely significant impact.

While it is true that mangrove forests could grow in size on its own, it could of course grow faster if more planting is done as part of long term ecosystem development planning. Yes, the entire mangrove forests along with its surroundings should be managed like an ecosystem, and not simply as a cluster of trees here and there. As a matter of fact, there are many species of flora that are considered as natural “companions” of mangroves, such as nipa palms. Where mangroves are found, we could always find nipa palms.

Accretion around mangrove forests actually does happen, and I have seen this happen with my own eyes. In the mangrove forest started by my departed Sigma Rho Fraternity brothers Fulgencio Factoran and Allen Quimpo in Kalibo, Aklan, the number of mangrove trees actually grew, as the land area also grew over the years. In a manner of speaking, accretion is actually a form of land reclamation that is friendlier to the environment because it is not invasive.

In that same mangrove forest, I also saw that the local residents were able to earn their livelihoods by growing fish in fishponds, by making charcoal from fallen mangrove branches, and by preserving “Tamilok”, a delicacy made from wood worms that thrive in decaying mangrove tree trunks. That is where I got the idea that if the local residents could produce more products that could be sold to outside customers, they could already support an ecosystem that would not only be good for them, but also for the environment.

In theory, I think it would be possible for people to purposely buy products from these mangrove ecosystems, as a way of helping the people who live there, but also helping the environment in such a way that it would also help in fighting storm surges and rising sea levels. I know that burn out could happen if we just rely on donations, but people could be willing to buy items that they could also use, as their way of helping. As another way of looking at it, they could be helping themselves, as well as being able to help the planet.