HE Philippines
faces serious and urgent environmental problems that must be addressed before it
is too late to do anything. The first problem is the extinction of species and
the rapid decrease in the abundance of biodiversity leading to decreased
productivity and stability of natural ecosystems. The second problem, which is
global in occurrence, is the negative direct and indirect impacts of climate
change on these ecosystems. The interactive results of these two problems are
not simply additive in nature but in fact tend to be multiplicative, adding to
the seriousness of environmental problems that humankind faces today.
Institutions of society must therefore act quickly and soon.
In addition to these kinds of threats to our ecosystems,
there are natural phenomena that could further exacerbate the impacts of
biodiversity loss and climate change. These are natural occurrences we are
powerless to prevent. Familiar examples are typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions and tsunamis. The most we can do is to minimize their negative
impacts.
We must consider urgent measures in response to these
threats. One of the practical responses we can suggest for Negros Island and
possibly other islands of the country is mangrove reforestation and enriched
planting of true mangrove tree species. This appears to be a sound strategy to
attain multiple development objectives for coastal communities, which are
vulnerable to the combined impacts of biodiversity loss, climate change and
natural occurrences.
There have been reported more than 30 species of true
mangrove trees in the country. About 90 percent of these species have been
reported from the Palawan group of islands. Probably only 50 percent of this
number are found on Negros.
It is the mangrove forests together with coral reefs that
provide the physical stability to coastal ecosystems. They also produce a lot of
organic matter fertilizing the sea and are also highly productive of resources
on which coastal human populations depend for food security and livelihoods.
They furthermore are mainly responsible for maintaining the biodiversity and
high productivity of coastal areas.
Mangroves shield coastal areas from the vagaries of weather
such as storm surges. Mangroves are the first line of defense for rare but
destructive natural events such as strong winds and tsunamis. I am reminded that
the tsunami that struck Sumatra not too long ago could have been less
destructive if there were mangroves there to hold back the sudden flood of sea
water. Should a tsunami occur on the Negros Trench in the Sulu Sea off Sipalay,
Negros Occidental, Sipalay and probably other towns such as Cauayan would surely
suffer from its effects.
Mangrove reforestation and enhancement planting around Negros Island (along
with coral reef protection) would restore the lost marine biodiversity, increase
production of economically important species such as fish and shrimps, capture
more carbon dioxide from the air, moderate the negative impacts of climate
change (storm surges, flooding resulting from rise in sea level), shield the
island from destructive natural occurrences, and make the island more
comfortable in terms of temperatures and more attractive to visitors. I highly
recommend that local government units of the whole island adopt mangrove
reforestation and enhancement soonest.
