Mandaue City eyes eco-tourism park

The Mandaue City government is now conducting an inventory of the city's coastal areas in preparation to develop a mangrove eco-tourism site.

Mayor Jonas Cortes said he had tasked the City Agriculture, City Legal, City Environment, and Natural Resources to check on the 72 hectares of mangrove areas located in barangays Umapad, Labogon, Jagobiao, and Paknaan.

"We don't have a tourist destination in Mandaue, so hopefully we can do this," the mayor added.

The Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and environmental advocates joined the inspection conducted by the city hall team.

"It's good because we, in Mandaue, we are industrial, commercial city and it's surprising that we have this asset within our city boundaries, especially now that climate change is such an issue, protection of what is left is very important," said MCCI President Kelie Ko.

The inspection checked the area's assets and assessed what are the things that could transform the area into an attraction.

After the inventory, they will formulate a blue economy map that is part of the integrated management coastal plan.

City Agriculture Office (CAO) in-charge Sharon Mangadlao told the media that since Mandaue City does not have forests, the city government wanted to focus its efforts on the development and protection of its available natural resources including its mangroves.

The city is preparing for its massive mangrove planting campaign in 2024. It has converted a portion of the old dumpsite in Barangay Umapad into a mangrove nursery that is now referred to as the Green Learning Park.

Mangadlao said the nursery was created by the fisherfolks and out-of-school youth during their 10-day cash-for-training program in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7).

Around 300 program beneficiaries were also trained in mangrove protection. They were also taught to identify and properly segregate the garbage that is found on the city's mangrove swamps.

The city government hopes to plant 30,000 mangrove propagules by next year.

"We have lot of potential here in Mandaue City. We are trying to see this so-called blue economy, sustainability in our coastal, marine, and offshore areas, we have to take a look at the environment, we have natural assets here," said Dr. Michael Abundo, Ocean Pixel Chief Executive Officer.