The aftermath revealed a horrible face of the town. Hundreds of people were dead or missing. Scores of families, including the elderly and children, were injured and left homeless. Verdant mountains were denuded and became muddy; coconut and other trees were washed out; pulsating rivers went brown and lifeless; the shores and the undersea were greatly devastated.
Today, people have picked up from when the tsunamis left only devastation. Yet, the environment, adversely devastated, remained unproductive and in dire need of revival.
The community’s persistent clamor for better natural sources for food and livelihood has compelled the local government under the watch of former mayor Datu Umbra Q. Sinsuat Sr. to act with resolve to protect and restore the bits and pieces of what survived the tragic event.
In 2008 the Department of Agriculture, through the Mindanao Rural Development Program, has identified the town to be one of the beneficiaries of its Natural Resources Management (NRM) component.
“This is the very first time since the 1976 tragedy that a project that aims to rehabilitate our environment is to be implemented here,” Manan Mondaragon said.
“We are truly happy that this program from of the DA and the WB has come to us; it has given us more hope than ever before,” Mondaragon added.
A thorough participatory resource and social appraisal was conducted to establish the baseline data of the upland and coastal resources of the eight covered barangays of Labungan, Awang, Dinaig, Mompong which comprised the Dimapatoy watershed and the coastal barangays of Linek, Badak, Kusiong and Tapian.
The local government has proposed four major projects amounting to P7 million, including a 72-hectare forest plantation, a 54-hectare agro-reforestation, the establishment of a 15-hectare fish sanctuary, a 15-hectare mangrove rehabilitation, and an 8-hectare riverbank stabilization. The projects benefit mostly the indigenous peoples Teduray and Maguindanaons.
In February 2010 the fish sanctuary was completed and even exceeded their agro-reforestation project to 72 hectares.
“So far, the project shows promising results. It has been observed that many fishes started to swarm the municipal waters after the successful implementation of the fish sanctuary,” said NRM head Dennis Paul Mijares.
Among the fish species noted were snapper fish like maya-maya, siganid like danggit, balawis, bulangin and fusilier or dalagang bukid.
MRDP program director Lealyn A. Ramos said environmental conservation is part and parcel of the holistic approach of reducing poverty and rural development.
“Restoring the integrity of the environment will provide communities better access to food and more opportunities for livelihood. That’s why the program really included projects that will ascertain a sustainable healthy environment,” she said.
Recently mangrove rehabilitation has been completed and the rest of the projects are close to completion.
“With environmental conservation activities, it would really take time to see the total impact of the project. But even to date, various indicators of the vibrancy of the environment are already sensed,” Mijares said.
“The low productive land and seas before have reversed. We believe we have done well and our efforts have paid off,” Mondaragon said.
