State of the Mangrove Summit: Central and Eastern Visayas Proceedings Status of Mangroves per Province 51 State of the Mangrove in SOUTHERN LEYTE The Editors, based on inputs from Southern Leyte participants I. Introduction The province of Southern Leyte has a total shoreline of 371.49 km and land area of 173,480 ha. It is composed of 18 municipalities and one city. Maasin City is the provincial capital. The province has 500 barangays, with a total population of 421,750. Almost 60 % of the population live along the coasts. The province envisions to be a safe, peaceful, selfreliant, climate-resilient, and progressive province. It aims to attain sustainable development through the partnership with the national government and private sectors. The top three development sectors prioritized are tourism, environment, and agriculture. These programs are envisioned to help alleviate poverty in the province. Southern Leyte is known for its Limasawa Island where the first Christian mass in the Philippines was celebrated. The island is declared as National Shrine of the First Christian Mass in the Philippines. The province was also an Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Gawad Kalasag Regional Awardee in 2017. Importance of mangroves Mangroves are source of food and products for selling (e.g., fish, clams, nipa shingles). Aside from natural products, mangroves also provide other means of income to the community (e.g., through tourism). Mangroves also provide several ecological services to the province such as shoreline protection and erosion control. 52 State of the Mangrove Summit: Central and Eastern Visayas Proceedings Status of Mangroves per Province With increasing recognition on the importance of mangroves, several rehabilitation efforts were implemented in the province. Some of the impacts of rehabilitation are improved food and income sources, tourism, and education. Mangroves are acknowledged in providing protection against natural disasters. II. Status of Mangroves The total area of mangroves in the province is around 926.90 ha composed of 864.21 ha old stands and 62.69 ha planted stands. Mangrove stands in the province are found in 14 municipalities and in the provincial capital (Figure 1; Table 1). III. Mangrove Protection and Management The common threats to mangroves in Southern Leyte are the informal settlers and improper solid waste disposal. Some mangrove stands were cleared and converted as settlement areas. Other threats are illegal cutting for firewood and land conversion/reclamation. Aside from enrichment planting, the province also implemented mangrove planting in some areas. In 2006, several mangrove protection and management programs were implemented (Table 2). The program has constructed a mangrove nursery and learning center. Table 1. Mangrove area per city/municipality in Southern Leyte. Original stand (ha) New stand (ha) Maasin City 450.35 10 Manhilo, Pasay, Bilibol, Guadalupe, Sto. Rosario, Cabulihan Macrohon 37.17 3 Molopolo, Sta. Cruz, Ichon, Amparo, Aguinaldo, San Roque Padre Burgos 44.38 3 Sta. Sofia, Buenavista Tomas Oppus 16.00 11 Higusoan, Iniguihan, Looc Bontoc 83.73 1 Sto. Nino, Divisoria, Union, Talisay Sogod 2.24 7 Mac, Mahayahay Libagon 17.12 2 Pangi, Nahulid, Kawayan, Otikon, Liloan 37.10 1 Bogasong, Himay-angan, Tabugon San Francisco 3.25 - - Saint Bernard 72.12 16 Panian, San Isidro, Himbangan, Malibago, Magbagacay San Juan 6.62 2 Minoyho, Pong-oy Hinundayan 87.96 - - Hinunangan 58.76 1 Calag-itan Silago 10.10 6 Hingatunggan, Balagawan, Sudmon, Sap-ang, Mercedes, Lagoma, Salvacion 864.21 63 45 Coastal Barangays Municipality TOTAL: 926.90 Area with projects State of the Mangrove Summit: Central and Eastern Visayas Proceedings Status of Mangroves per Province Figure 1. Location of mangroves in Southern Leyte. 53 54 State of the Mangrove Summit: Central and Eastern Visayas Proceedings Status of Mangroves per Province Table 2. Mangrove seedlings production and rehabilitation (2006 – 2017). Quantity No. of recipients 2006-2007 22,768 13 2008-2009 22,559 34 2010-2011 11,433 34 2012-2013 17,912 33 2014-2015 45,068 66 2016-2017 40,453 66 160,193 231 Year Total Sectors MLGUs, BLGUs, DENR, schools, POs, PCG, PNP, students, individuals, PDRRMO, church, PNRC, SOLECO, PAGSO, SK Federation, PDRMO, Grade 6 Pupils, cooperatives IV. Summary and Recommendations Some of the recommendations to strengthen the mangrove rehabilitation and restoration programs are as follows: 1. Secure strong support of DENR to municipal and barangay local governments; 2. Legislate policy on easement for coastal greenbelt; 3. Strictly enforce the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) and Zoning Ordinance; 4. Strictly enforce policy on “no build zone”; 5. Provide (and diversify) other sources of income to the fisherfolks (for example, cashfor-work programs); Species Funding Aegiceras floridum, A. corniculatum, Avicennia marina, A. alba, A. officinalis, Ceriops decandra, Rhizophora stylosa, R. mucronata, R. apiculata, Sonneratia alba, S. ovata, S. caseolaris, Xylocarpus granatum, X. moluccensis • Provincial Government (AIP 20 % EDF) • GIZ-ENRD Integrated Coastal Mgt. • Energy Development Corporation (EDC) • DENR-NGP • BFAR 6. Conduct community-based information drive; 7. Select appropriate site and species to plant/ restore mangroves; and 8. Establish/manage mangrove nurseries. V. References PDPFP (2017-2022). PPDO, Southern Leyte.