Spurring tourism through mangrove preservation: One Meralco Foundation’s One For Trees in Aklan
Through One For Trees, peoples’ organizations like Kalibo Save the Mangroves Association(KASAMA) can plant more mangroves in their ecopark.
In New Buswang, Kalibo, Aklan where high-tide floodings hit their homes especially during the amihan season (or cold monsoon winds from the northeast), community members organized to find solutions to prevent strong winds and floodings that destroy their homes and livelihood.
The Kalibo Save the Mangroves Association (KASAMA) was launched to gather KASAMA members and convince the community to plant trees and bakhawan (local term for "mangroves") to combat natural calamities. Members who become part of KASAMA have to undergo training that encourages proactive participation of members in preserving their environment.
"We had to understand the importance of trees in our lives. Learning the processes of properly planting mangroves made us realize that this is a ‘life mission’ for us. That we need to plant mangroves so that our children’s children can enjoy the resources that we are enjoying today,” said KASAMA member Rosalie Teodosio.
Aside from taking care of the mangrove forest, KASAMA members also turned the area into a tourism pitstop for local and foreign visitors to augment their livelihood.
One Meralco Foundation (OMF), the corporate social responsibility arm of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), through its environmental sustainability program One For Trees (OFT), reached out to KASAMA and supported the planting of 100,000 mangroves in 10 hectares of the organization's allocated ecopark area to help ensure the project’s longevity. Because of KASAMA’s resilience, they managed to turn their mangrove area into more than just a buffer zone, but a tourism pitstop for many visitors in Kalibo, Aklan. Visitors can marvel at the 220-hectare ecopark with a 20-minute walk with local tour guides explaining the different mangrove species growing. Those with spare time can kayak through the river, flanked by mangrove arrays on each bank. For adventure-seekers, fresh tamilok awaits, a woodworm delicacy which locals eat raw as appetizer. Because of these efforts, KASAMA was able to welcome about 80,000 visitors from 2022 to 2024.
Further west, in Ibajay, Aklan, residents also welcome the prospect of tourism at their local mangrove forest, Katunggan It Ibajay (KII). OFT has helped Bugtongbato Fisherfolk Association (BFA) and Naisud Mangrove and Aquatic Organization (NAMAO) members plant 50,000 new mangroves in 20 hectares of the KII. Members of BFA and NAMAO were tapped to preserve and sustain these forests which serve as crucial habitat to the community's fish reserves.
Katunggan It Ibajay caretakers are supported by OMF to preserve and sustain their mangrove forests, a habitat to their community’s fish reserves.
Members who are part of these organizations saw the need to maintain the mangrove forests to protect their spawning sites. "We now have a clear guide on mangrove species and how these contribute to the whole fisheries ecosystem. It was clear to us that we need to take care of the mangroves to protect our livelihood,” shared Glenzy Bernardino, one of the members of NAMAO.
angrove planting and growing expanded not just the forest cover, but also provided Katunggan It Ibajay caretakers a livelihood anchored in ecotourism which includes kayaking.
From managing the forest, they transitioned to welcoming guests to their mangrove forest and boardwalk. Members share their knowledge to entertain and educate tourists, which hone their English communication skills to foreign guests from Boracay island who also visit their forests.
“More than the extra income from tour guiding and OFT’s payout from planting mangroves, I am happy with my self-improvement. I have gained confidence not just in my knowledge of mangroves but also relating to different people from all walks of life who are equally interested in how we manage this mangrove forest,” Bernardino added.
More than protecting homes and livelihoods, each mangrove project contributes to the larger mitigation of climate change. OFT mediated by creating indirect but significant and meaningful opportunities for the people of Kalibo and Ibajay, Aklan.
The One For Trees program, which started in 2019, has planted and nurtured 2,727,433 trees to date. It also has active partnerships and plantation sites in Laguna, San Miguel, Bulacan, Norzagaray, Bulacan, various LGUs in the Province of Bohol, Kalibo and Ibajay, Aklan, Butuan, Agusan del Norte, Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte, and Pangantucan, Bukidnon.