|
Panguil Bay
is a shallow sea bay at the head of Iligan Bay, with
extensive intertidal mudflats and mangrove swamps.
Acknowledging the importance of these swamps, a group of
scientists from the
Mindanao
State University assessed the mangroves species along
Panguil Bay traversing the provinces of Lanao del Norte,
Zamboanga del Sur and Misamis Occidental.
The study
sought to determine the mangrove species composition,
density and basal area cover, pattern of resource
utilization, the people’s experiences on mangrove
rehabilitation projects, as well as identify the threats
to the remaining mangrove resources of the bay.
Considered
insignificant in earlier times, these mangrove species
today are recognized to have numerous benefits and play
critical roles in the fishery productivity of aquatic
ecosystems.
Twenty-one
true mangrove and 15 mangrove-associated species were
identified around the bay. Among the 10 municipalities and
two cities assessed within the mangrove area, the
municipality of
Kolambugan
had the highest number of true mangrove species followed
by Lala and Ozamiz City.
The study
further revealed that Kolambugan had the highest mangrove
cover area of 139.26 hectares, of which 95 percent (132.31
hectares) falls within the total mangrove area.
The
municipality of Kapatagan had an estimated cover of 135.14
hectares of natural growth, the researchers observed.
The
project reported that total reforested area in the bay was
only 215.19 hectares, which was not even half of the
494.52 hectares estimated in 1995. It also revealed that
previous interventions had not improved the mangrove
status in the bay.
Massive
fishpond development continues and remains a threat to
what is left of the mangrove areas. In some areas, there
were private claims on land ownership that could railroad
the established mangrove programs of the government.
Since the
remaining mangroves in
Panguil
Bay may not be enough to support the demands on the
fishery resources, wise management of this last frontier
is needed. This was stressed during the monitoring and
evaluation of the project by the Philippine Council for
Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and
Development (PCARRD).
Panguil
Bay used to be one of the richest fishing grounds in the
country and was a major source of prawn fry, prawn
spawners and many commercially important finfishes,
cephalopods, crabs and seashells. Increased threats to the
mangroves endanger fish production in the bay. Thus,
efforts must be directed toward maintaining them and
sustaining their ecological roles.
Over the
last decade, interventions to address the declining
mangrove cover had been made by government agencies and
nongovernment organizations. Still, impacts of these
initiatives must be determined.
Meanwhile
in Tagum City, mangrove forests are among those that are
most easily destroyed. The alarming rate of mangrove
forest destruction results in the difficulty of collecting
planting materials, as well as decrease in supply for its
rehabilitation.
The
mangrovetum in Southern Mindanao was established by the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to
showcase species diversity of the Philippine mangrove
forests and to answer the shortage problem of mangrove
planting materials in nearby areas of the region.
DENR-Southern
Mindanao researchers Abdulrahman C. Damada, Aurelio G.
Alvarado and Maribeth N. Espina reported, however, that
with the diversity of the mangrovetum, there is a need to
ensure the right time of collecting fruits, seeds and
propagules. Thus, the study sought to characterize the
mangrove species based on their life cycle and other
natural phenomenon.
The
10-year project that began in February 2003 seeks to
determine the start of flowering, fruiting, ripening and
maturation of seeds/propagules of both natural and planted
mangrove species in the mangrovetum area, as well as the
frequency of flowering/fruiting of the different species
thriving in the project area.
The
project also seeks to determine the environmental factors
that influence the growth, flowering and fruiting of the
plants.
At
present, the mangrovetum has 36 genera and 51 species,
with the genera broken down to 14 true mangrove and 22
associated species. Of the 51 species, there are 27 true
and 24 associated species in the area. From the 27
recorded true mangrove species existing in the mangrovetum,
only five species (bakauan babae, busain, piapi,
saging-saging and bakauan bankau) have produced
fruits in four years.
Research
results submitted to PCARRD revealed that another six
species (tangal, langarai, tabau, kulasi, nilad and
bakauan lalaki) have produced fruits resulting in
11 species in five years’ time. These six species bore
flowers and fruits throughout the year.
Now on its
fifth year, the project shall continue to study the
phenology of the mangrove species within the mangrovetum
until all species are covered and investigated.
The study
area shall remain to showcase the diversity of mangrove
species in the region. (Ma. Rowena M. Baltazar/S&T Media
Service) | 
