MANGROVE LOVING PENGUIN: Planting Tungog in Kawas Marine Sanctuary

 

"The more the variety, the better the society."

Variety is diversity.  Biodiversity is the diversity of life in a given area. 

Biodiversity is the variability among living organisms on earth, including the variability within and between species and within and between ecosystems. It is a general indicator of overall ecological health. How?  Greater biodiversity  leads to greater stability.  For example,  species with high genetic diversity and many populations that are adapted to a wide variety of conditions are more likely to be able to weather disturbances, disease and climate change. Greater biodiversity also enriches us with more varieties of foods and medicines. 

Mangrove ecosystems are biodiversity superstars.  Worldwide, they provide habitat for over 3,000 fish species and other wildlife, thus providing livelihoods to more than 120 million people, generating income and food security.  Mangrove forests provide habitat for 341 threatened species across the planet.  

In the world of mangroves itself , there is biodiversity.   Globally, there are about 75 species of mangroves. According to the most comprehensive inventory of mangrove species in the country, Handbook of Mangroves in the Philippines - Panay   written by Jurgenne Primavera, Resurreccion Sadaba, Ma. Junemie Lebata and Jon Altamirano, there are 35 species of true mangroves in the Philippines.  

Down in   Southern Mindanao, a research article by Angelo Rellama Agduma  which was published in Biodiversity Data Journal,  recorded 24 true mangrove species in the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape (SBPS).  The SBPS, established by Presidential Proclamation No. 756    in 1996, has a total area of 215,950 hectares and is shared by a total 68 coastal barangays from General Santos City  and the towns of   Maitum, Kiamba, Maasim, Alabel, Malapatan and Glan of Sarangani Province.  Of these 68 coastal barangays there is Brgy Kawas in Alabel which hosts the Kawas Marine Sanctuary (KMS).  With a total area of 29 hectares, KMS is one of the smallest marine protected areas (MPA) in SBPS. 

It is in Kawas Mangrove Sanctuary that I found myself last May 6; the morning after the 2024 Kasadya Marathon .   

How I got there to Kawas is kind of serendipitous.  16 months ago, the Bicolano Penguin (BP) was in Cebu  to run in  the 2023 Cebu Marathon . There in a pre-race get together organized by the Pinoy Runners PH, I met several runners from Mindanao. One of whom is Jean Ny, a runner from Sarangani province.  Fast forward to April 30 this year and the Mangrove Loving Penguin (MLP) was looking for a contact number of the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer (MENRO) of Alabel.  Since I will be in GenSan for the Kasadya Marathon, the MLP  planned to plant mangroves in the city and in the neighboring province of Sarangani.  Looking at the map of GenSan and its neighboring towns, I figured the closest town with possibly a thriving mangrove forest is Alabel. But I did not know anybody in Alabel.  But I know Jean is from Sarangani so I messaged her and it turns out she is based in Alabel. Not only that, she knows the Alabel MENRO as they live in the same village.  What a coincidence. Jean was kind  to provide me his contact number. 

The Bicolano Penguin with Jean Ny in Cebu, a day before the 2023 Cebu Marathon.  

Group photo of the Pinoy Runner PH contingent to the 2023 Cebu Marathon 

The Alabel MENRO is Engr. Allan Rivera. He is a hard working government official, an accommodating one at that.  When I visited the MENRO office in the poblacion of Alabel on a Monday morning, he was already busy having a huddle  with his staff.  After his staff meeting, Engr Allan received me formally in his office (3rd time  for the MLP,  in all his mangrove planting escapades since 2015, to meet the local MENRO). I requested permission from Engr. Rivera if I could visit and plant mangroves in one of the coastal barangays of Alabel. I added that the MLP has a bucket list to plant mangroves in all 62 coastal provinces of the Philippines.  After explaining my purpose, he offered to have a couple of MENRO team menbers  to accompany me to Brgy Kawas where the KMS is located.  Engr Allan said he would have wanted to join me if not for the meetings he had to attend to on that Monday. For me, I was grateful already to have the chance to visit and converse with the MENRO,  and to be offered some knowledgeable escorts to go to KMS was quite a bonus. Engr Allan introduced me to Giegie Sinoy of the Integrated Coastal Management unit of MENRO  Alabel. 

Visiting Alabel MENRO Engr. Allan Rivera and staff Giegie Sinoy.   

To reach the Kawas Marine Sanctuary, we travelled from the poblacion of Alabel going to Brgy. Kawas by driving south along the Sarangani-Davao del Sur Coastal Road.  Just before the Lun Badidu River bridge which marks the border between the towns of Alabel and Malapatan, we turn right on a dirt road. After roughly a kilometer, we reached a dead end on the dirt road which is the entrance to KMS.  

Google map photo of the mangrove area inside Kawas Marine Sanctuary. The area is  the midpoint  between  Pequeno Beach and Baybay Lun Padidu. 

Entrance to Kawas Marine Sanctuary (aka Kawas Marine Protected Area) 

Waiting for us on a wooden shed, with a nursery beside it,  a few steps from the KMS entrance were community volunteers; three of them; one man and two women. Giegie introduced me first to the man.  He is Joemar Francilliesco. The two women and him  are members of  the Kawas Boundary Fisherfolks and Farmers Association (KBFFA). Established in 2018, the KBFFA currently has 30 members.  This is the people's organization (PO) that is working with MENRO Alabel in managing and protecting the mangrove forest inside the Kawas Marine Sanctuary.     

Joemar Francilliesco and fellow members of Kawas Boundary Fisherfolks and Farmers Association 

According to a research article entitled Biophysical Profile of Kawas Marine Sanctuary by Cirilo Lagnason Jr., Wilfred Bidad and Elani Requieron which was published in Advances in Environmental Sciences, there are 6 mangrove species in the 7 hectares of mangrove forest inside KMS.   These are Avicennia lanata, Avicennia marina, Rhizophora apiculata, Sonneratia alba, Aegiceras floridum, and Ceriops tagal. The first 4 species, the MLP was able to plant already in other provinces. But with the the last 2,  not yet.  Looks like in Kawas, the Mangrove  Loving Penguin is lucky because when I asked Joemar if I could plant mangroves, he answered yes. And when I followed up what mangrove seedlings are available for planting that morning, he replied Tungog. 

The Tungog is a medium-sized  tree which is known as "spurred mangrove" or "red mangrove" in other parts of the world.  It is a mangrove tree species in the family Rhizophoraceae, same family as the Bakawan Babae and Babae Lalaki. But at 6 meters tall, the Tungog is shorter than the Bakawans (15 to 20 meters tall). Shorter too than the Pagatpat (20 meters tall) and Bungalon (12 meters tall).  Its scientific name is Ceriops tagal. The genus name Ceripos is derived from the Greek keros, and -ops, meaning 'wax' and "resembling' referring to the thick, shiny wax-like substance at the base of the stipules (outgrowth of the base of a leafstalk).  The specific epithet tagal is a plant name from the Tagalog language. 

The Mangrove Loving Penguin first saw a Tungog mangrove  in his visit to Bula Mangrove Forest in General Santos City

The durable wood of the Tungog is used in house construction. It is also used in the manufacture of charcoal (uling), and is favoured as firewood, being second only to the Bakawans. Among the mangrove species, its bark and sap yield red and black dyes which are used in batik and tanning leather. 

Speaking of red, I read in the Pinoy Food Illustrated   blog that the bark of the Tungog  is used in the Visayas and Mindanao as flavoring for tuba (coconut wine). It gives the Visayan tuba its bitter taste and distinctive maroon color. In Mindanao, their tuba with Tungog has a pale orange color. Tungog would cause the natural fermentation of alcohol and prevents the souring of tuba when producing bahal (old tuba) and bahalina (aged tuba). "The flavor makes aged tuba compete in taste with any of the western  red wines."    

Got more excited when I heared that Tungod mangrove seedlings will be the ones I will get to plant there in KMS. Two days before, May 4, the MLP saw a Tungog while touring the Bula Mangrove Forest  in General Santos City.  But the mangrove seedlings available for planting in Brgy Bula were the Bakawan Babae species. This time, in Brgy Kawas, it will be the Tungog. 

Excited as I was, let us have the photos do the talking in the MLP's experience of planting the Tungog at KMS. (Here is the YouTube link  to the video).  

Group photo before planting the Tungog mangrove seedlings

Follow the leader.  Following the KBFFA president as we navigate thru the mangrove forest.

Team work in planting.  The substrate of the mangrove forest in Brg Kawas is coralline sandy muddy.

1st step in planting the Tungog mangrove seedling is removed the plastic at the bottom. Then place the mangrove seedling in the hole in the substrate. 

Next is cover the hole with the soil with some tender loving care. 

Then, smile and thumbs up for the camera.

Going for more Tungog seedlings to plant. The KBFFA members are expert in planting mangroves. 

Two thumbs up for the experience to plant my first Tungog mangroves.   

Checking on the other magrove species inside Kawas Marine Sanctuary. This one is a big Pagatpat.

 

Checking on a young Bungalon. Like the Pagatpat, the Bungalon is a fringe type of mangrove which are in the zone along the coast facing the open sea.    

Washing my hands along a creek inside the mangrove forest.

Biodiversity inside the KMS mangrove forest.  I am no expert but I bet there are at least 3 mangrove species in the photo. 

 After planting the Tungog mangrove seedlings, we rested in the shed. This gave me an opportunity to continue my conversation with Joemar. He was elected president of the KBFFA in 2020.  According to him, the people's organization works closely with the Alabel MENRO office in their task of protecting and managing the mangrove forest in Brgy Kawas.  They also get support from the DENR Region 12 .  One assistance they got from the DENR is the KBFFA was provided 2 carabaos which are rented out to farmers in the barangay for their rice fields. Rental income from the carabaos supplement the livelihood income the KBFFA derives from selling mangrove seedlings which are sold at Php 8 per.  I bought 20 Tungog mangrove seedlings that were planted that morning.

Photo with Marx Hazir Sarabosquez of the SBPS

Joemar and the other members of KBFFA are proud of the fact that the Kawas Marine Sanctuary is part of the  Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape.  It is a promising spot for biodiversity.  The Biophysical Profile research article mentioned earlier concluded that in KMS, the Mangrove  forest exhibited Good Condition, the Seagrass beds in Fair Condition and the Coral Reef resources in Fair to Good Condition. Joemar tells me another fascinating thing about the KMS. He tells me that Dugongs forages  in its seagrass beds. Dugong (Dugong dugon) is the flagship species of the SBPS which is teeming with coastal and marine life, enough to be included as one of the 94 protected areas covered by the Expanded National Integrated Protected Area System Act  . 

Beautiful place indeed the Kawas Marine Sanctuary is.  God bless the good people who manage and protect the biodiversity in the Kawas Marine Sanctuary. Good people like Joemar and members of KBFFA.  Good people like Engr. Allan Rivera, Giegie Sinoy and the rest of the Alabel MENRO staff. Indeed, by their actions, they are being part of the Plan. 

Happy International Day for Biological Diversity this May 22. 

 

             

  

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