Assessing the remaining mangroves

In decades past, the Philippines was tops in natural mangroves population in its lakes and shorelines, which through the years were indiscriminately logged over by artisan and commercial furniture makers, people in the remote communities who used them for fencing and all crafts imaginable, and by fisherfolk and farmers.

The mangroves were also converted into salt and fish farms, thereby decimating the areas planted to them, in the process displacing fishery resources that thrived in these habitats.

In hindsight, the mangroves have proven their indispensability during typhoon Yolanda, where big areas of Eastern Visayas, except the two barangays in Giporlos, Eastern Samar were spared from the ruinous floods and storm surges that drowned tens of thousands of people and uprooted homes, farms and completely leveled plantations.

The government is not taking stock of the mangrove resources of the country using satellite images with the help of the Philippine Satellite Agency (PhilSA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The objective is to develop a nationwide mangrove map using remote sensing data for conservation efforts.

As Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo- Loyzaga said using space-based technologies has been an “invaluable help to the DENR in quantifying and measuring what we (belatedly) treasure as a nation.”

PhilSA explained that the map will undergo a validation process to ensure data reliability and applicability for coastal management, conservation efforts, and scientific research.

The validated data can now enhance PhilSA’s machine-learning mangrove mapping algorithm, which can be used to support conservation and resource management efforts. 

The country lost over half of its mangrove ecosystem since 1918 at the rate of 450,000 hectares. This loss was attributed to the conversion of mangroves into fishponds and other coastal development projects.

“Using satellite imagery and spaceborne data, we can develop the methodologies and algorithms to make more frequent and timely monitoring possible, which ultimately should be directed towards supporting more sound decision making and policies,”  said PhilSA Director General Joel Joseph Marciano Jr., the Philippine Star reported.

The memorandum of agreement forged between PhilSA and DENR last year also covers the monitoring of the National Greening Program areas and other forests. The DENR created a geospatial database office in 2023, with Undersecretary Carlos Primo David for integrated environmental science as head. ROSE DELA CRUZ