MANGROVE LOVING PENGUIN: World Mangrove Day (Jul 26)

 

World Mangrove Day is celebrated on July 26 each year.  Established by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2015, the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem raises awareness of mangroves' importance and promotes their sustainable conservation.  The day aims to promote sustainable management, conservation, and the responsible use of mangrove resources.  In the words of Audrey Auzolay, the 11th Director-General of the UNESCO:

"Mangroves are in danger:  it has been estimated that more than three-quarters of the world's mangroves are under threat along with all the aquatic and terrestrial  organisms that depend on them.  For this reason, UNESCO is acting to protect them and other valuable blue carbon ecosystems, through its networks of Biosphere Reserves, Global Geoparks and natural World Heritage sites." 

The theme for International Day for Conservation of Mangrove Ecosystem 2025 is "Protecting Wetlands for our future."  This theme underlies the vital importance of mangroves as nature-based solutions for a sustainable future, especially their effectiveness in carbon storage and sequsetration.  Climate change mitigation means avoiding and reducing emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere to prevent the planet from warming to more extreme temperatures.  The mangrove ecosytems have a significant contribution to climate mitigation.   

Mangrove ecosystems are highly effective carbon sinks sequestering vast amounts of carbon within the soil, leaves, branches and roots.  UNESCO estimates that a hectare of mangrove can store 3,574 tons of carbon which is equivalent of taking 2,650+ cars off the road for one year.    Studies  indicate that, pound for pound, mangroves can sequester four time more carbon that rainforests can.  Most of this carbon is stored in the soil beneath mangrove trees. 

How to celebrate World Mangrove Day?  The Days of the Year  website suggested several fun and caring ways that anyone can mark World Mangrove Day.  These are the following:

1. Explore Nearby Green Zones (Mangrove forests)

2. Join a Planting Effort.

3. Clean Shorelines

4. Support Local Guardians

5. Learn and Share Facts

6. Make Mangrove Art

Truly a good idea to celebrate World Mangrove Day.  In the case of the Mangrove Loving Penguin (MLP), this year's World Mangrove Day was celebrated a number of ways.  Of the 6 ways mentioned in the list above, MLP was able to do 4 of them in July 26, 2025.

First one is explore nearby green zones, meaning visit a local mangrove forest if one is nearby.  For mangrove lovers in Metro Manila, there are several mangrove forests located in the neighboring provinces of Cavite and  Bulacan. All of these mangrove forests  in Cavite and Bulacan are along Manila Bay and their hectarage are dwindling given the pressures from rapid urbanization.  On the part of the MLP, I wanted to visit on World Mangrove Day a nearby mangrove forest which is located along the coast facing the migthy Pacific Ocean.  

For such a mangrove forest, the nearest would be in the province of Quezon, specifically in the towns of Real, Infanta and General Nakar.  These coastal towns of the 1st congressional district of Quezon are roughly 110-125 kilometers from Manila.  Conveniently for MLP, I have already visited a mangrove forest in Infanta municipality more than a month back and this was the  AFFA Mangrove Ecopark which the MLP discovered is a "Pugad ng Nilad".           

Map of the AFFA Mangrove Ecopark

Located in Barangay Alitas, which is an estuarine barangay, the AFFA Mangrove Ecopark is a 21-hectare forest managed by the people's organization called the Alitas Farmers & Fisherfolk Association (AFFA)   by virtue of a  25-year tenurial agreement with the DENR.  The AFFA Mangrove Ecopark is rich in mangrove diversity, being home to at least a dozen true mangrove species.  This is the mangrove forest the MLP and son visited on World Mangrove Day. 

The dominant mangrove species in the AFFA Mangrove Ecopark are the Bakhawan Babae (Rhizophora mucronata) with a sprinkling of Bakhawan Lalaki (Rhizophora apiculata) and Bakhawan Bato (Rhizophora stylosa). While the Bakhawan  mangroves are soaring high, down on the ground are the diminutive Ragoyroy mangroves (Acanthus ilicifolius)  and Lagiwliw mangroves (Acanthus ebracteatus).    The MLP have written already about the AFFA Mangrove Ecopark being the "Pugad ng Nilad" as it has quite a number of Nilad mangroves (Scyphiphora hydrophylacea). In fact, the Nilad mangrove seedlings planted by Manila LGU officials back in 2020 and 2023 came from this ecopark in Brgy. Alitas.  Another famous mangrove species in this ecopark is the Busaing mangrove (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza) .  The propagule from the Busaing is sliced, dried and cooked in coconut milk to create another version of ginataan.  The women volunteers of the ecopark proudly tell of the story of celebrity content creator Erwan Heussaff  tasting and enjoying the ginataan Busaing in the summer of 2025.  Also, the Nipa mangroves (Nypa fruticans) in Brgy. Alitas provide fruits for the Nipa Alak. Speaking of fruits, there are many Tabigi mangroves (Xylocarpus granatum) and Saging-saging mangroves (Aegeciras corniculatum).   Bungalon mangroves (Avicennia marina, Avicennia officinalis and Avicennia rumphiana) and Pagatpat mangroves (Sonneratia alba) are plentiful too, specially near the seaward facing part of the AFFA mangrove ecopark.

The diversity of the mangrove species is evident as one enters the AFFA Mangrove Ecopark.  In this photo, one could see at least 6 mangrove species:  Nilad, Bakhawan Babae, Lagiwliw, Busaing, Bungalon, and Tabigi.     

MLP checking on the leaves of the Nilad mangrove.

    

MLP reaching for the propagule of the Busaing mangrove.

Busaing mangrove propagule up close.  It is cigar-like and its length ranges from 19 to 25 cm long. 

The diminutive Lagiwliw mangrove is a shrub. Its leaves are deeply lobed with sharp spines.   

An AFFA volunteer holding a Pagatpat wildling harvested near its mother tree inside the AFFA Mangrove Ecopark

Second is join a planting effort. To celebrate the World Mangrove Day, I really wanted to plant mangroves.  The days leading to July 26, 2025 were stormy and rainy days that have been going in most parts of Luzon for a couple of weeks already as a result of 3 consecutive Low Pressure Areas (LPAs) developing into tropical depressions.  Depressing as it may seem, the MLP kept its hope alive and prayed for a relatively good weather come World Mangrove Day.  With a bit of heavenly help, the sky did cleared up on July 26 which made the mangrove planting activity possible on that day. 

And thanks to the help of the people's organization (PO) taking care of the AFFA Mangrove Ecopark, I was  able to plant mangroves that are lesser known but equally important as the typical Bakhawan mangrove species planted in many a government mangrove planting activities.  Yup, the MLP  was able to plant Nilad mangroves and Busaing Mangroves on World Mangrove Day.  Truth be told, it was hard. Hard walking on  knee-deep and thigh-deep mud.  It is no vacation getting baked by the noontime sun.  Hard but it was fun as the photos would show. 

All smiles, MLP with AFFA officers and volunteers riding a small boat on the way to the planting site deep inside the AFFA Mangrove Ecopark. 

Seedlings of Nilad and Busaing mangroves carried on a small canoe.  

Nearing the mangrove  planting site.  The presence of concrete structure like the ones in the photo indicate that this area used to be a fishpond which has been abandoned.

The small canoe carrying the mangrove seedlings can go further the interior of the mangrove ecopark.

The small boat parked outside the mangrove planting area. MLP's son is flying the drone. 

 

Drone shot.  The small area encircled in orange is the mangrove planting area. It is roughly 40-50 square meters in size.  The AFFA officers call these small bare areas as "pitchi-pitchi" and there are many of these inside the AFFA Mangrove Ecopark which need to be planted as part of the mangrove enriching program.      

Another drone photo of the same "pitchi-pitchi" area.

The mangrove planting area is deep in mud, some ankle deep, some knee deep, even waist deep. This makes movement a bit laborious.  

AFFA officers and volunteers busy with the mangrove planting. 

Busy working with a smile.

MLP planting a Nilad mangrove seedling.  1st time for the MLP to plant a Nilad. 

Happy to plant a mangrove on World Mangrove Day

Third is support local guardians.  What "local guardians?  Interesting phrase.  Let us tackle first the word "guardians" whose etymology (Old French 'gardien') suggests watching over or protecting.  Protect what?  In the context of sustainability, the word signifies proactive, informed, and ethically committed protection of ecological systems such as the mangrove ecosystem.   Why "local guardians"?  Numerous scientific studies have shown that positive outcomes   for conservation come from cases where local communities play a central role. 

In the case of the mangroves in Infanta, Quezon,  a well-respected local guardian is the Alitas Farmers and Fisherfolk Association (AFFA).    It was formed in 2008 and is based in Brgy Alitas. AFFA has 95 members, the majority of which are women (66).  A key programme of AFFA is a mangrove rehabilitation project. This programme was started in 2009 and aimed at reverting abandoned fishponds back to mangrove.  In 2013, AFFA's efforts were awarded, recognised as a best practice by the Philippines' National Greening Program. At present, AFFA maintains and monitors the mangrove rehab site and plans to expand their rehabilitation efforts  to remaining abandoned fishponds. 

Because of its good track record of its Community-Based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA) with the DENR, there are well-established environmental NGOs and private companies who are beginning to take notice and form alliance(s) with the AFFA for sustainability initiatives.  Take the example of Haribon Foundation  and its partner-client Manulife Philippines.  Early this year, Haribon and AFFA signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the mangrove restoration in a 17-hectare portion of the mangrove forest in Brgy. Alitas.  This May 2025, the ceremonial mangrove tree planting activity was conducted on site. 

AFFA brochure (1st page),  First time for the MLP to see a mangrove people's organization to have a brochure. 

AFFA brochure (page 2)

Press Release of Manulife announcing its partnership with Haribon Foundation to plant 15,000 mangrove seedlings in the province of Quezon.  AFFA was not specifically mentioned in the press release but photos  on the ground clearly show it is this PO that is working with Haribon and Manulife for the 15,000 mangroves to be planted.

Group photo of Manulife employees and AFFA volunteers during the ceremonial mangrove tree planting last May 30, 2025. 

AFFA volunteers helping out...

...the Manulfe employees in the mangrove tree planting. 

With this kind of a reliable track record, the AFFA is an easy choice for the MLP as the one of the local guardians to support.  In addition,  AFFA is not difficult to talk to and its officers and volunteers are very accommodating.  More importantly, they are fun to work with as these photos would show. Nobody gets hungry even.  

Group photo on World Mangrove Day (Jul 26). From left-to-right:  Anna Katipunan, Sally Tropicales, Analiza Voces, MLP, Quintin Aveno (AFFA Founder), Bonifacio Bonto, Roselie Pujalte, Elsie Fernandez, and Liwanag Ritual.   

 

Having fun with the AFFA volunteers in our visit to their mangrove ecopark

Having more fun when its  lunch time.  Delicious lunch prepared by AFFA volunteers featuring seafood and plants from the local area.  

Fourth is learn and share facts. Learning and sharing knowledge are important for individual knowledge and collective growth.  My visits to the AFFA Mangrove Ecopark have yielded a lot of learning for the MLP about mangroves and other important things.  On July 26, much of my learnings happened during lunchtime where a delicious set of meals was prepared and served by the AFFA volunteers.  

There was the new knowledge for me that the propagule of the Busaing mangrove is used as an ingredient for a ginataang meal of small shrimp and crab. It was delicious and a couple of days after, I posted about it in my Mangrove Loving Penguin  facebook page.  A kind of sharing in this age of social media.  Happy to know that this particular facebook post about the Busaing mangrove propagule has been shared 56 times, as of the latest count.  I am doubly happy and honored to know that among those who shared the said facebook post is my idol and teacher Dr. Jurgenne Primavera, one of the leading experts on Philippine mangroves.  

MLP facebook post dated Jul 28 on the Busaing mangrove.  It was shared 56 times as of the latest count. 

Dr. Jurgenne Primavera re-shared MLP's facebook post on te Busaing mangrove.   

Having lunch with the AFFA officers and volunteers last July 26 gave me the opportunity to learn some of their best practices in taking care of the mangroves and managing their people's organizations.  In particular, the AFFA founder Quintin "Kuya Boy" Aveno was generous in sharing the challenges they faced when they were just starting and the solutions they came up to deal with the problems.   

Listening to Kuya Boy, the AFFA people's organization and the barrio folk of Brgy Alitas have grown to practice resilience and sustainability.  What the AFFA founder has shared is also documented in a 2021 report by the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative    which is an alliance of hundreds of member organizations dedicated to working together to realize societies in harmony with nature.  

"Resilient coastal communities take deliberate action to reduce risks from coastal hazards with the goal of avoiding disaster and accelerating recovery in the event of a disaster. They adapt to changes based on experience and the applying of lessons learned.  Enhancing a coastal community's resilience requires integrating and maintaning an optimal balance of three community-based frameworks:  community development, coastal management, and disaster management. Community development provides the enabling governance, as well as the socioeconomic and cultural conditions for resilience.  Coastal management provides the framework for anaging human use of coastal resources, including mangroves and the coastal zone, in order to maintain environmental and ecosystem resilience.  Disaster management focuses on the preparedness, response, recovery and mitigatoon to reduce human and structural loses from disaster events." 

To put it bluntly, people's organizations like AFFA are the troops on the ground in the struggle to protect the world's mangroves. Such a struggle the UNESCO Director General alluded to in her quote to celebrate the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem. There we have it.  We have come full circle on the matter. 

As my personal way of celebrating the World Mangrove Day, the MLP visited, planted, supported, learned and shared about mangroves and the people who nurture and protect it.

Happy World Mangrove Day.  It is an important day for planet Earth.