San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is looking to start a mangrove plantation on an 80-hectare site in Paombong, Bulacan as part of its nationwide reforestation initiatives, that includes expanding the Bulakan Mangrove Ecopark in Brgy. Taliptip–where it is set to build the New Manila International Airport project–and the planting of seven million trees in at least seven provinces nationwide.
The company is in the initial stages of developing the first 20 hectares of what will be the San Miguel-Paombong Mangrove Plantation & Sanctuary, near the coastline of Barangay Masukol.
It will be undertaken together with the local government of Paombong, headed by Mayor Maryanne Marcos, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
“Our team is putting together the development plan for the mangrove plantation, and after submitting this to the Paombong LGU, we hope to immediately proceed with the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). We thank the local government of Paombong for agreeing to host this mangrove plantation site and sanctuary that will be the biggest in Bulacan. It will also be a key component of improved sustainability and flood mitigation efforts for the province,” SMC president Ramon S. Ang said.
“We initially identified 20 hectares for this project and we are carefully studying the site in consultation with a mangrove expert to ensure that we will address potential challenges and ensure the mangroves’ long-term growth, so they can benefit both current and future generations,”he added.
With an estimated 2,500 mangrove propagules to be planted per hectare, the San Miguel-Paombong Plantation & Sanctuary can host as many as 200,000 mangrove trees. This is more than the 190,000 mangroves that the company initially targeted last year at the start of its mangrove planting activities in Bulacan.
Next month, Ang said SMC employee volunteers are also set to plant 10,000 mangroves at the Bulakan Mangrove Ecopark. The Bulakan Mangrove Ecopark, a 24.5-hectare mangrove area located at Sitio Wawang Capiz in Barangay Taliptip, is jointly maintained by the local government of Bulakan and SMC.
The planting activity will bring to 16,000 the new mangroves being grown by SMC at the Bulakan Ecopark site. This is in addition to 13,000 already in place in the coastal areas of Hagonoy and Obando.
