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Philippine gov't provides fund to strengthen shorelines against disasters

Xinhua, March 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Philippine government has released an initial 400 million pesos (8.99 million U.S. dollars) to develop mangroves and beach forests in areas struck by major calamities to prevent similar destruction from happening again, a senior government official said Wednesday.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said that the fund was given to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for its Mangrove and Beach Forest Development Project (MBFDP) under the National Greening Program.

Under the project, the national government, with the participation of concerned stakeholders from both local government units (LGUs) and the private sector/non-governmental organizations (NGOs), will develop mangroves and beach forests in areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda, and other disasters that hit several regions in the country.

Haiyan, which ravaged most parts of the country in December 2013, left over 6,300 people dead, over 1,700 others missing, and millions of families homeless.

"All of our rehabilitation efforts will need to be grounded on ensuring the safety of communities against natural disasters in the future. That's why comprehensive preparation and prevention are key elements in our policy of Build Back Better, which includes the replanting of mangrove and beach forests on our coastlines," Abad said.

The project, which has a total of 1 billion pesos fund requirement, will include the site preparation, nursery development, mangrove and beach forest planting, and maintenance and protection. Endi