Mangrove forests healthy in BARMM, Caraga, Zamboanga Peninsula
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 4 January) – Three Mindanao regions recorded a combined mangrove forest area of 106,248 hectares as of 2020, landing them in the top five regions of the country with high concentration of mangroves, latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has the largest mangrove extent in Mindanao with 51,881 ha, followed by Caraga with 27,276 and Zamboanga Peninsula with 27,091 ha.
Mimaropa region leads the Philippines in mangrove areas with 69,709 ha (22.4 percent), followed by BARMM (17.2 percent). At third spot is Eastern Visayas with 34,679 ha (11.2 percent).
The total mangrove extent in the Philippines stood at 311,216 ha as of 2020, the Mangrove Accounts of the Philippines (MAP) released by the PSA last December 22 showed.
Divina Gracia del Prado, PSA assistant secretary and deputy national statistician, said the MAP provides information on the changes in the extent and condition of mangrove ecosystems, assess and value their assets and services, and connect this information to economic and human activities geared towards sustainable development.
“The preliminary compilation of the mangrove extent account provides insights into the extent of the country’s mangrove forests or the total area covered by mangrove forests,” she said in a statement.
In 2020, the Philippines’ total mangrove extent reached 311,216 ha, a 2.8-percent increase from 302,811 ha in 2015, she said.
The 2020 mangrove extent represents 1.1 percent of the country’s total land area of 29.59 million ha.
The National Capital Region (NCR) had the smallest mangrove extent with 133 ha (0.04%), followed by Ilocos Region (1,771 ha or 0.4%), SOCCSKSARGEN (1,982 ha or 0.61%), and Central Luzon (2,383 ha or 0.62%).
Meanwhile, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) had no recorded mangrove extent due to its landlocked geographical configuration.
Among regions, the highest growth rate recorded was noted in Ilocos Region at 33.7 percent or a 447 ha increase from the previous period.
This was followed by Central Luzon and NCR with 27.9 percent (520 ha) and 25.3 percent (27 ha), respectively.
On the other hand, Cagayan Valley and BARMM recorded a decline in mangrove extent with a decrease of 4.8 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
No comments:
Post a Comment