TACLOBAN
CITY, Feb. 15 (PNA) –- Villagers in a typhoon-hit community in this city are
eyeing to develop tourism activities through the mangrove reforestation
project.
Paraiso
village chairman Jan Michael de Veyra of coastal San Jose district said that
tourism development is one of their long term plans for the new project.
Once full
grown, they will construct a pathway in the mangrove forest for students who
will visit the place for educational trips.
They will
also include mudcrab production as livelihood support for local fishers.
“We already
made an eco-tourism plan and presented it to possible partners for funding,” De
Veyra said.
The village
official hopes that their project will be replicated by other coastal villages
of the city, whose families will be transferred to the relocation site to the
northern part of the city.
The village
council has already approved an ordinance establishing a mangrove forest in
their community as part of the marine protected area.
“We hope
that this will not only be done here in Paraiso, but also by other villages
that surround Cancabato Bay,” he added.
The
importance of mangrove is not limited to coastal and shoreline protection and
in the propagation of marine life, but this can also be promoted for
eco-tourism, according to Trina Dacuycuy of the Department of Tourism.
Speaking to
locals, Dacuycuy said that planting and growing a thick mangrove forest could
attract tourists that would provide alternative income.
In the
region, popular mangrove forests for eco-tourism and educational tours are the
Tabuk Marine Park, Fish and Bird Sanctuary in Palompon, Leyte; and the Lalaguna
Mangrove Forest in Lavezares, Northern Samar.
Recently,
Pinabacdao town launched their Mangrove Safari, which they open for educational
trips.
“The success
of this mangrove forest can also be achieved in Paraiso if people will learn to
take care of what they have worked for,” Dacuycuy said.
Planting
mangrove is not an easy task as it needs extra care to ensure that mangrove
seedlings would grow, said Emma Germano, technical officer of the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
After super
typhoon Yolanda, DENR personnel made a study on mangroves forest in places
hard-hit by the catastrophe to find out which species could withstand big
waves.
Germano said
that based on their initial observation in mangrove areas in Eastern Samar,
mangrove species such as miyapi and pagatpat are more resistant to storm
surges.
DENR targets
50,000 hectares of coastal area for the nationwide mangrove planting and
rehabilitation. Of the total area, 13,000 hectares are located in the five
provinces of Eastern Visayas. (PNA)
LAP/SQM/ROEL T. AMAZONA/EGR
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