Dr. Joel Joseph S. Marciano, Director General of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA)
Dr. Annadel S. Cabanban of Wetlands International
Partners in organizations and the private sector
Colleagues in government,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning,
Let us mark this leap year 2024 and the month of February dedicated to wetland conservation as the day we officially celebrate the pivotal role of advanced space technology and tools in establishing a robust, data-driven foundation for national mangrove conservation and rehabilitation.
The importance of mangroves has been repeatedly emphasized in our country through various programs and projects addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation, poverty alleviation, and biodiversity conservation. Our nation proudly hosts 33 true mangrove species, representing 50% of the world’s total mangrove species. Currently, our country possesses around 300,000 hectares of mangroves across various regions.
However, these mangroves face a decline, and our primary objective is to rehabilitate and protect these unique and productive ecosystems. As part of the Department’s comprehensive initiative, mangrove forests along with associated habitats such as seagrass beds and coral reefs, undergo monitoring through the nationwide Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Program. This program employs a rigorous and science-based approach to periodic biodiversity assessments, ensuring a thorough and accurate understanding of health and condition of these ecosystems.
Looking ahead with the help from our partner agencies, the academic community and non-government organizations, we reiterate the DENR’s firm commitment to establish natural capital accounts, which involves integrating key ecosystems like mangrove forests into building a sustainable and thriving blue economy in the country. The launching of the mangrove map is a major milestone for us to accomplish this goal.
Last year, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) to establish a comprehensive geodatabase for the Environment and Natural Resources Accounting Program (ENRAP). This collaborative effort involves mapping geospatial resources through Emerging Space Science and Technology Applications (ESSTA), incorporating cutting-edge tools such as machine learning, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and GIS.
Today, I am pleased to share with the DENR bureaus, field offices, the academe, the Global Mangrove Alliance, and other agencies one of the tangible outcomes of this partnership. The DENR has allocated 5 million pesos to various mangrove projects, including the creation of an updated nationwide map of mangroves for the year 2023.
This map, subject to ground validation, will be used in conjunction with the Coastal Resource Map (CRM) provided by NAMRIA for mangrove conservation and rehabilitation. You may wonder about the differences between the CRM Map and the 2023 Mangrove Map. The distinctions lie in spatiotemporal aspects and methodology.
The most recent Coastal Resource Management map (2020) results from fieldwork and satellite image analysis spanning several years (2017-2021). In contrast, the 2023 Mangrove Map is a product of machine learning, utilizing only satellite imagery from the year 2023. Moreover, a key divergence is the crucial role of ground validation by the DENR and our partners. The accuracy of the 2023 Mangrove Map is enhanced through citizen science and on-the-ground observations, contributing to a more robust model for subsequent years.
In conclusion, this collaborative effort represents a significant stride toward effective mangrove conservation and rehabilitation. The map will help us contribute to our targets and international commitments such as the 30 by 30% conservation target of the Global Biodiversity Framework, Sustainable Development Goals, and efforts to establish the country’s Blue Economy. But more concretely, the map informs us of the areas where mangrove forests have progressed, remained static or declined and disappeared – thus a prioritization of our mangrove rehabilitation programs moving forward.
The fusion of advanced space technology, machine learning, and citizen science underscores our commitment to preserving these vital ecosystems for the benefit of current and future generations.
