Philippine Daily Inquirer

Mangroves found cut in 1-ha Lucena area

- By Delfin T. Mallari Jr.

LUCENA CITY—Stacks of fully grown mangroves illegally cut from a one-hectare coastal area were discovered in a village here Wednesday by provincial officials and environmen­talist group Tanggol Kalikasan (TK).

Efrelyn Escultura-Calabano, special project officer of TKSouthern Tagalog, said the mangroves, some of which had been sawn into lumber and others being prepared for charcoal production, were cut from and found in Barangay Salinas, a coastal village facing Tayabas Bay.

“Based on our initial assessment, more than one hectare of mangrove area was destroyed. The entire haul needs at least two dump trucks to transport,” she said.

Quoting reports provided by a concerned citizen in the area, Escultura said a certain “George,” a resident of the village of Talim, was behind the mangrove destructio­n.

She said the illegal mangrove cutting is being investigat­ed by the Quezon Provincial Agricultur­ist-Fisheries Division with help from by volunteer lawyers from TK.

Mangrove forests, also known as the “rainforest of the sea,” are an important part of the marine ecosystem as the roots of the trees provide shelter for marine life while their fallen leaves become feed for fish and other marine animals.

Cutting of mangrove trees is banned by Presidenti­al Decree No. 705 or the Forestry Code of the Philippine­s and Republic Act No. 8550, otherwise known as the Philippine Fisheries Code.

The provincial government has been trying to stop forest and mangrove destructio­n in Quezon and led the massive planting of more than 2 million mangrove propagules in a single day in different coastal villages of the province last June 30.

 ?? TONETTE OREJAS / INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON ?? THE DESTRUCTIO­N of mangroves continues in many areas, some being sacrificed for projects like this landfill under constructi­on in Obando, Bulacan.
TONETTE OREJAS / INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON THE DESTRUCTIO­N of mangroves continues in many areas, some being sacrificed for projects like this landfill under constructi­on in Obando, Bulacan.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Philippines