A redeveloped mangrove picnic park will be built by the local government unit of Currimao in Ilocos Norte as it enjoins coastal communities to participate in its intensified mangrove rehabilitation project.

Located in Barangay Maglaoi Sur, the two-hectare mangrove plantation project was a project of the provincial environment department and other support agencies in 2016.

To ensure its maintenance and development, municipal agriculturist and environment officer Ericson Biag designated the Currimao government to be on top of the rehabilitation project, including the development of the picnic park and planting of more mangrove seeds or propagules.

“At least 2,000 mangrove propagules were planted at the site on Friday with around 50 participants, mostly locals,” he said in an interview on Sunday.

As they are often hit by typhoon annually, Biag said coastal residents are fully aware of the significant role of mangroves.

Environment experts said mangroves serve as life support systems to about 75 percent of fish species in the area, crustaceans, and wildlife.

If undisturbed, mangroves can live up to 100 years and the more they mature, the more they help the marine ecological system.

In support of the national greening program, members of the provincial government, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and other stakeholders continue to plant thousands of mangrove propagules within the 155-kilometer coastline.

The municipal agriculture office has been educating residents on how to grow, maintain, and protect mangroves.

Villagers and fisherfolk also volunteered as guardians of the plantation until the trees are fully grown. (PNA)