The Need to Manage and Develop Mangroves

MANGROVE FORESTS all over the world are under a great threat of dying a slow death.

According to the report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, in the Philippines, 2,000 hectares of mangrove forests died each year from year 2000 to 2005.

The government has been implementing mitigation measures and campaigning for the protection of mangroves. When I was a high school student, I took part in several campaigns of our local environment and natural resources officers on mangrove forest protection.

Despite the efforts of the government, the decrease in mangrove population has not been stopped.

If the people will continue to ignore this fact, and all the mangrove forests are all gone from the face of the planet, all of humanity’s suffering will intensify in humongous proportions.

Because we realize just how important mangroves are, the SoCCSarGen Bloggers, in cooperation with the City Environment and Natural Resources Office of General Santos City, several non-government organizations, students from Mindanao State University, and other concerned individuals, planted 2,000 mangrove propagules at Minanga, Buayan, General Santos City, an estuary in the protected seascape of Sarangani Bay.

Why Should We Take Good Care of our Mangroves?

1. Fresher Air. Like any other tree, it provides us with oxygen. They clean the air that we breathe. If there would be more mangroves, the world will have fresher air.
2. Richer Aquamarine Resources. Mangrove forests protect aquamarine biodiversity. Mangrove forests serve as spawning grounds for many aquatic animals. The structure of the root system of mangroves protect the delicate offspring of fishes from predators and even from bad weather. With more mangroves, fishermen will surely have better catch each time.
3. Cooler planet. Compared to other tree species, mangroves are seen to have higher carbon sequestration potential. According to Mangrove Action Project , a hectare of mangroves can capture and store 1.5 metric tons of carbon. Imagine if we increase the mangrove forests by the hectare, we could slow down the effect of global warming more effectively.
4. Better Economy. Aside from making our seas richer, the economy of the mangrove-based community may also improve. Mangroves have medicinal potentials and have long been used as source tannin for the textile industry. However, of course, there should be proper management of the mangrove forests.

The Mangrove Planting Party organized by the Sox Bloggers is truly one good move to show how important mangrove ecosystems are. The Province of Sarangani and the City of General Santos, whose economies, to a great extent, depend on Sarangani Bay must pay attention to and intensify efforts to manage and develop our mangrove forests.

 

Photo Credits:

Brian Congson