LET’S REVIVE OUR MANGROVE FORESTS

LET’S REVIVE OUR MANGROVE FORESTS While there are many reasons why we should revive our mangrove forests, there is only one reason why we are not doing it, and that is plain and simple apathy. It seems that as much as we did not care to stop those who destroyed them, we also seem not to care to revive them. It seems that common sense is not so common anymore, because very few among us are moving to revive our mangrove forests, even if it is common sense to do so. While it is true that mangrove reforestation has long term benefits such as carbon capture and climate change adaptation, the short-term benefits are even more valuable, because it has directly something to do with our food security and our human security, the latter pertaining to increasing our defenses against storms and even tsunamis. This might sound as if it is coming out of a kindergarten lesson, but if we revive the mangrove forests, the planktons will come back. When the planktons will come back the small fish and the shrimps will come back. When the small fish and the shrimps will come back, the big fish will come back. Believe it or not, even the dugong will come back! As a bonus, the crabs will also come back. There are actually other plants and trees that are not true mangroves, but are considered as “mangrove associates”. One such associate is the nipa palm, a species that is touted by some scientists to be a source of fuel. IKE SENERES/03-19-2024