Saving those enchanting mangroves

The Manila Times

I have waited 14 years to give this speech. I first visited the Bugtongbato mangroves in 1996 when my former SEAFDEC assistant Junemie, now Dr. Lebata-Ramos, excitedly reported a beautiful mangrove patch she had seen in Ibajay.

I thought she was exaggerating until another colleague confirmed her story. When I came with SEAFDEC group in 1997, it was love at first sight! Never mind the mangroves I have seen all over the Philippines and SE Asia, Japan, Brazil, Ecuador, Africa and even Florida in the USA—the captivating BugtongBato-Naisud mangroves will always be my favorite.

However, I was shocked to find out during my visit that a lot of trees were girdled (barks were scraped off) so I asked the Barangay Head. He said he plans on setting them on fire (dag-oban kag patyon), following the advice of a government environment official who told him that in order to make a livelihood from the mangroves, he should only plant bakhaw (and clear all the mangrove trees).

As the forest is dominated by Avicennia, locally known as apiapi or bungalon, he thought he needed to cut these first. I pleaded—please spare the trees because I need them for my research—which was not really true at the time. On my return to Iloilo I scouted for research funds to study Mangrove-Friendly Aquaculture.

In the course of my field work during early 2000, I invited Filipino scientists, Dr. Rex Sadaba from University of the Philippines Visayas and Dr. Josette Biyo from Philippine Science High School, who brought their own students, and also foreign scientists from Japan, Sweden, UK, etc. One particular day, I remember walking in the Ibajay market with an Australian mangrove expert in tow, when a vendor asked me if he was my husband. She thought I was a native Akeanon who brought my Caucasian spouse to the famous beaches of Boracay. She didn’t know there is something far more beautiful and precious in Ibajay than Boracay.

My experiences suggest that these mangroves are not only enchanting but also enchanted. Please do not laugh at my story but the first time Junemie and I visited the centuries-old trees, it took more than an hour through the slippery jungle to locate where the Avicennia rumphiana stand. When we were done admiring the magnificent trees, we made our way back as the sun was going down.

To our dismay, our local guide confessed that he’d never seen that part of the forest so we kept going around in circles. After what seemed an eternity, we finally found the road. My own interpretation is that spirits of the forest were testing us and finally saw our good intentions. During the early 80s, a handful of local folks and officials prevented chainsaws from turning these forests into fishponds.I say to those who visit these mangroves—be pure in heart, respect the plants, do not cut their branches nor throw garbage.

Unfortunately, this was not the case during my past visits, for each time I would notice a cut tabigi or a burned piag-ao. These are just 2 of the 27 species of mangroves in this EcoPark, as documented in the Handbook of Philippine Mangroves (co-authored with Rex, Junemie and Jon Altamirano).

You can read their scientific and local names on the nameplates hanging from the trees and in the poster inside the Information Center. There are other posters that describe the importance of mangroves, their uses, and so on, so I will not go into that.

More recently, we simplified the 106-page book to a shorter, laminated Mangrove Field Guide which is cheaper and easier to carry.

I hope to see Filipinos, both adults and children (including my two apos surnamed Tirol who happen to be Akeanons) going to forests and appreciating its beauty. Toward this end, my grant from PEW has funded the writing and publication of Mangrove Modules for elementary schools. Last November, we distributed some 2,000 copies of these Modules with the accompanying Teacher‘s Manual to 80 schools throughout Panay.

This Mangrove Ecopark in Ibajay, Aklan is only one livelihood option for our partner people’s organizations (POs)—the Bugtongbato Fishers Association and the Naisud Marine and Aquatic Organization. There is also food processing in collaboration with the Aklan State University, and hopefully more research studies from University of the Philippine Visayas and even foreign universities.

In the early 2000s, SEAFDEC made it possible for me to do research in these mangroves. In 2005, the PEW grant provided PhP100,000 for the first part of the footwalk, but it was an individual project for me. In 2008 came the grant from Zoological Society of London (ZSL) which did not only provided funds, but also the best human resources available—my staff of nine from ZSL and PEW.

Without all of them, we will not be here today.Finally, on behalf of ZSL and SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department (where I am Scientist Emerita), our deepest thanks go to our PO partners and LGU officials—Mayor Lulu (Ma. Lourdes Miraflores), Vice Mayor Sta. Maria, SB Solidum, Captain Inguillo and Captain Gregorio, and their support staff.