RI DISTRICT 2640 gives One Million Yen

Last May 15, 2008 during its WCS Mission in Cebu, the Rotary International District 2640 of Japan gave One Million Yen seed money for a Matching Grant with RI District 3860 for the One Million Mangrove Project.

HIGHLIGHTS

August 17, 2007, Rotary International District 3860 under the leadership of Governor Joseph Michael Espina entered into Memorandum of Agreement with Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation, Inc. (CCEF, Inc.). The signing of the MOA marked as the instigation of the support of Rotary to Cebu’s One Million mangroves for Cebu Project.

To add glamour to the existing campaign, the Rotary Club of Mactan together with the Rotary Club of Mandaue North, Rotary Club of Mandaue East, Rotary Club of Cebu East and an international partner the Rotary Club of Kainan East, hosted the participation of Miss Chin-chin Gutierrez to use her celebrity stature to promote environmental awareness in the Philippines. Ms.Gutierrez appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine as one of its Asian Heroes fro 2003 and was named among The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service in 200, also for environment advocacy. Ms Gutierrez planted 1, 600 pieces of mangrove propagules in the mangrove nursery as her own way of urging the Cebuanos to protect, conserve and reforest its existing mangrove forests.

Different Rotary Clubs spread throughout the Province of Cebu initiates their own Mangrove Planting Activities in partnership and cooperation with coastal communities and local government unit. To ensure sustainable mangrove plantation maintenance, the mangrove management bodies were formed at the barangay/community level where the mangrove plantations are located. These mangrove management bodies will do the after care of the newly planted mangroves and ensure its proper growth. They also manage their own mangrove nurseries in order to grow more mangrove seedlings. Mangrove seedlings will have 60-80% survival rate compared to that of a mangrove propagules. These mangrove plantations have been effectively managed particularly because each of the rotary club adopted a mangrove planting site which is located in a certain municipality.

The Alternative Livelihood Projects are being introduced by the Rotary Club to the mangrove management body, this will also provide the communities the motivation to ensure the sustainability of the mangrove plantation and continue the reforestation activities in their areas. Rotary also provides continuous services to the members of the community

One Million Mangroves for CEBU

Few places are as vulnerable to the battering of storms and tidal erosion as the coastal areas of the islands of the Philippines. Mangrove forests form a buffer between tidal waves and the land, protecting human communities that live inland.

Cebu is one of the most developed provinces in the country and the main center of commerce, trade, education and industry in Southern Philippines. Cebu is a long narrow island stretching 225 km (140 mi) from north to south with predominant rolling hills and rugged mountain ranges traversing the entire length of the island. Most of its population lives along its narrow coastal plains.

The Mangrove forests in Cebu that can be its first line of defense against tidal waves are only 12.7 square kilometers in a coastline that is 916.7 kilometers long. Most of its mangrove swamps was lost because of land reclamation, conversion to shrimp farms, residential and industrial development.

75% of commercial fish species are known to spend part of their life cycle in the mangrove swamps. The loss of Cebu’s Mangroves has resulted in declining fish harvests in a sea once known for the richness of its biodiversity.

The One Million Mangroves Project encourages the active involvement of the schools, business sector, civic groups and the public to plant mangroves.