Philippine
Mangroves Saves the Day
Cruz,
Alexander John
5th Year BS Chemical Engineering
11 December 2013
Yes, basically I know that mangroves
are the different species of trees and shrubs that grow in coastal sediments in
tropical countries like the Philippines. I have very little knowledge on what
mangroves are and this reason urged me to join a public forum last December 9,
2013, entitled "Forum on Mangroves and Beach Forest Greenbelts: Towards a
Culture of Safety for Philippine Coastal Communities." The event was held
at the UP Diliman College of Science Auditorium. It was organized by the
Philippine Native Plants Conservation Society, Incorporated in cooperation with
our very own UP Diliman-College of Science, Science and Society Program (SSP)
and the Office of the Student and Public Affairs of the College of Science. The
forum lasted for 2 hours (3:00 pm-5:00 pm) and was attended by students, professors,
government officials and other professionals in the field of geology, civil and
coasting engineering, marine science and other disciplines as well.
The forum started around past three in
the afternoon. The introduction was first done by Dr. Rollon. The speakers for
the event are Dr. Jurgenne Primavera who focused on mangroves and beach forests.
After Dr. Primavera, Dr. Leoncio Amadore of the IESM highlighted his talk by
discussing climate change and how it affects our country—the economy and the
lifestyle of the Filipino people and how they deal with climate change. The
last two speakers were Dr. Fernando Siringan and Dr. Cesar Villanoy of the
Marine Science Institute who talked about marine geology.
I have learned so much and I have had
many realizations and new learnings after attending the public forum. Mangrove
forest or the “rainforest of the sea” as they call it plays an integral role
not just in the coastal and marine ecosystem but also for the benefit of the
people in communities near the coastal line. Some of the economic and
ecological advantages that can be derived from these mangroves are: natural
products, medicinal products and the like. These rainforests of the sea also
serves as a support of aquaculture and fisheries industry. And recently, one of
the highlights of the importance of mangroves is what happened in the recent
disaster, Super Typhoon Yolanda. According to an article from the PRI Science,
Tech & Environment, entitled Saved by
the Mangroves? A Philippine town dodges Haiyan's storm surge[1],
the richness of the mangrove forests in McArthur, a small town in Eastern
Samar, saved them from having much casualties than it would have been if these trees
were not there. The mangroves served as a protection of the coastal communities
from the storm surge, wave, tides and currents. Also, experts say that the
mangroves also stabilizes the coastline by reducing erosion. Other functions
includes: pollution reduction, stabilization of contaminants by
phytoremediation and of course, for recreational purposes.
According to the speakers and the
participants of the forum, these mangroves are threatened by man-made and
natural dangers like typhoons and conversion of mangrove forests to fishponds
and reclamation for pier, airports, subdivision and developments. Overcutting
of trees and human domestic waste production also claims a large chunk in the
destruction of these mangrove forests.
With this, different government and
non-government agencies must agree, draft and implement a mandate/move to
protect and preserve these forests of the coast. As far as I know, the DENR and
many other agencies are doing the best they can in implementing the regulations
they have set in the conservation of the mangroves.
As for the assessment of the event
management and the event in general, the forum started a bit late.
Nevertheless, the organizers really did a great job as they were prepared with
the attendance sheets, certificates of appreciation, other materials needed
such as laptop, projector, microphones and sound system among many others. I
firmly commend the organizers for a job well done and I expect more activities
which can be participated in by more students. As a future chemical engineer, I
am aware that we must push for technological advancement but we must also be
wary of our environment. As for the mangroves, the rainforest of the sea, we
must protect them like the way they were, are and will be protecting us in
times we need them. Indeed, Philippine mangroves have and will always save the
day.
[1] Reporter Michael Holtz, November 29, 2013 · 2:45 PM EST
URL: http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-11-29/saved-mangroves-philippine-town-dodges-haiyans-storm-surge
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