Tucked in the coastal town of Bani in western Pangasinan is a flourishing ecosystem—almost 40 hectares of healthy mangrove forest that is home to various species of shellfish, fish and birds. But 20 years ago, the Bangrin Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the village of San Miguel was almost a barren area. “There were very few mangroves then. Very few and far in between. It was being readied to become fishponds,” says Solomon Ochave, 50, president of the Bangrin Federation, an umbrella of people’s organizations taking care of the MPA. Former Mayor Gabriel Navarro says the forest was a victim of the national government’s policy to convert mangrove areas into fishponds as part of efforts to increase fish production.

Sotelo, Y. (2010, September 8). Bani folk keep mangrove forest alive. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A17.