LEGAZPI CITY — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources Bicol will intensify its coastal reforestation project after giant storm surges spawned by super typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan) devastated coastal towns in Eastern Visayas, a regional official said Wednesday.
Regional director Gilbert Gonzales said they will build “Beach Forest” through massive mangrove planting along the coastlines of the region to protect communities vulnerable to storm surges, sea level rise and tsunamis.
The mangrove project in coastal areas will be under the DENR’s national greening program, Gonzales said.
Under the program, the DENR partners with coastal communities where it will grant livelihood to villagers by way of planting mangroves and taking care of the areas planted, he said.
He said the coastal reforestation drive will be a priority project and will cover hundreds of kilometers of coastlines in the region.
In Eastern Visayas, he said, the program calls for the planting of mangroves along 380 kilometers of coastlines.
Mangroves will serve as a “Green Wall,” a disaster mitigating measure against storm surges that might be triggered by strong typhoons and other weather events, including tsunamis that are triggered by earthquakes in the seas. (PNA)
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