With the devastation wrought by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in Eastern Visayas last year serving as a grim reminder to pursue disaster-preparedness measures, Quezon’s provincial government is transforming coastal areas into “beach forests” to shield inland communities from storms and sea surges. The beach forest project is now being implemented in the province’s 1,066-kilometer coastline under the joint efforts of different local offices, with the Quezon Environment and Natural Resources Office (Quezon-Enro) as lead agency. “Aside from mangroves, the coastal communities are now planting talisay, ipil, dangkalang and other (hardwood) tree seedlings that are capable of withstanding storm surges,” Manny Calayag, Quezon-Enro deputy head, said in an interview on Saturday.

Mallari, D. T. Jr. (2014, January 30). Quezon’s shield of ‘beach forests’. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A7.