Raymond Rivera, head of the provincial environment and natural resources office, said seedlings are ready to be planted, in 720 hectares with bamboos and 100 hectares with mangroves starting this rainy season.
Farmers’ groups from the towns of Morong, Bagac, Limay. Pilar and Abucay and fishers’ organizations from Orani, Samal, Abucay, Balanga City, Pilar and Orion were tapped as caretakers of the bamboo and mangrove plantations in their respective areas.
Rivera said the planting of bamboos and mangroves is part of climate change mitigation called for under the Paris agreement.
He said that studies showed that bamboos have the highest carbon zinc capacity or the highest capacity to sequester carbon deposits. Bamboos can be turned into furniture and decorative items that will give additional income to farmers and cooperatives, he said.
Mangroves, on the other hand, serve as physical barrier against storm surge aside from providing more income for fishermen for being habitat of fi sh, shells and crabs.
Rivera said the importance of mangroves was more appreciated when super typhoon Yolanda hit the country. Areas with thick mangroves were spared or suffered least destruction from the onslaught of big waves triggered by the killer storm, he said.
The DENR is also in the process of foreshore mapping to make an inventory of the number of plants, including mangroves, in Bataan, he added.
He said that so far, he has observed that there are better mangrove sites in Tortugas, seaside village in Balanga City. He said that mangroves are good sources of fuel for cooking. “Residents are environmentally-aware so that mangroves in the area become lush and tall,” Rivera noted.
