Nemesis of the Big Waves

BY: MARTHY JOHN LUBIANO

We will never forget what happened. Without a warning, lives ebbed away like they were spare characters of a bestselling tragic novel when Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)

wreaked havoc in the Philippines on November 8, 2013.

Spectators, Filipinos or not, were horrified by the videos and photos revealing how a gargantuan mass of mud and water ruthlessly clawed the coasts of the Eastern Visayas.

Survivors were traumatized because it was certainly not easy to swim for their lives while others too were in dire need of their help.

Why many perished?

The ignorance of the Filipinos on what a storm surge was actually about was drawn in the headlines of the news, pointing the blame finger at the media institutions and government agencies. The usual mantra was “Wala man gud mi kahibaw unsa na

ang storm surge kay wa man giexplain og tarong sa balita kung unsa na.” (We did not actually know about a storm surge because it was not clearly explained in the news.) It is true, there was no thorough or an indepth discussion about storm surge.

However, they never faltered to warn everyone that a monster like Yolanda will eventually emerge and would shock all of us in the process. The only problem was that

we knowingly neglected to act for precautionary measures because we still believed that we were safe and sound even though the reality was the contrary.

Palomponganons were so fortunate to have predecessors who emphasized the importance of mangroves and paved the way for the proliferation of these species of

trees. If there were no mangroves readily available to block the storm surge during that time, Palompon too might have been one of the places with most death tolls—and that was an upsetting idea to think of.

Real talk on Mangroves

As a group, mangroves can’t be defined too closely. There are some 70 species from two dozen families — among them palm, hibiscus, holly, plumbago, acanthus, legumes and myrtle. They range from prostrate shrubs to 200-foot-high timber trees.

Though most prolific in Southeast Asia, where they are thought to have originated, mangroves circle the globe. Most thrive within 30 degrees of the equator, but a few hardy types have adapted to temperature climates, and one lives far from the tropical sun as New Zealand.

Wherever they live, they share one thing in common: they are brilliant adapters. Each mangrove has an ultrafiltration system to keep much of the salt out and a complex root

system that allows it to survive in the intertidal zone. Some have snorkel-like roots called pnuematophores that stick out of the mud to help them take in air; others use prop roots or buttresses to keep their trunks upright in the soft sediments at tide’s edge.

Mangroves’ Reputation

Mangroves live life on the edge. With one foot on land and one in the sea, these botanical amphibians occupy a zone of desiccating heat, choking mud, and salt levels that would kill an ordinary plant within hours.

Yet the forests mangroves’ form is among the most productive and biologically complex ecosystems on earth. Birds roost in the canopy, shellfish attach themselves to the roots, and snakes and crocodiles come to hunt. Mangroves provide nursery grounds for fish, a food source for monkeys, deer, tree climbing crabs and a nectar source for bats and honeybees.

These plants are also land builders par excellence. Some aborigines in northern Australia believe one mangrove specie resemble its primal ancestor, Giyapara, who

walked across the mudflats and brought the tree into existence. The plants’ interlocking roots stop river borne sediments from coursing out to sea, and their trunks and branches serve as a palisade that diminishes the erosive power of waves.

Mangroves may contribute to reducing loss of life and damage to property from storms and cyclones as they reduce the impact of waves, storm surges and high winds.

Waves - Mangroves can rapidly diminish the height of wind and swell. Even during relatively large storm surges, the leaves and branches of the forest canopy will help to reduce wave energy provided the trees are tall enough
Storm Surges - Where mangroves are extensive they are able to reduce storm surge water depths as the surge flows inland. While storm surge depths may only be reduced by 5-50 cm per kilometer width of mangroves, nevertheless a small reduction in water level can already greatly reduce the extent of flooding in low lying areas behind the mangroves. Debris movement can also be reduced by mangroves; the complex network of roots and branches can serve to trap even large moving objects.
High Wind Speeds- The dense mangrove forest canopies also reduce wind speeds locally. These prevent further development of wind and swell waves in and immediately behind the mangroves, potentially reducing damage to nearby infrastructure. In the most severe storms, mangroves may themselves be damaged or torn up by the high winds and waves, although breakage or uprooting of mangrove trees is relatively rare.

Bottom line

Despite their strategic importance, mangroves are under threat worldwide. They are sacrificed for salt pans, aquaculture ponds, housing developments, roads, port facilities, hotels, golf courses, and farms. And they die from a thousand indirect cuts: oil spills, chemical pollution, sediment overload, and disruption of their sensitive water and salinity balance.

Calls for mangrove conservation gained a brief but significant hearing following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Where mangrove forests were intact, they served as natural breakwaters, dissipating the energy of the waves, mitigating property damage, perhaps saving lives.

Integrated coastal management and development plans are required to safeguard the risk reduction values of mangroves. These plans should prevent further degradation of existing mangrove forests and support rehabilitation of mangroves where possible, and most importantly should consider mangroves as being a fundamental part of the local economy. One vision for the integration of mangroves into coastal landscapes and seascapes would be the promotion of tiered protection, with strictly protected mangrove areas alternating with wise use zones as well as more intensively used production systems.

Healthy mangroves are a prerequisite for all aspects of coastal protection. Robust growth should be encouraged by avoiding degradation through pollution, waste dumping, drainage or unmanaged timber extraction. Climate change could also have implications for mangroves. Typically mangroves are opportunistic, growing well in many conditions. Thus far, it would appear that no species are negatively affected by heat, but some may be able to expand their ranges as warm conditions expand around the world.

“Plant a few trees, and usher in an ecosystem. Build nature a house, and she makes it her home.” —National Geographic

REFERENCES

-National Geographic

-Wetlands International

PHOTO SOURCE

http://caricom.org/projects/detail/mainstreaming-adaptation-to-climate-macc-project