AboitizPower, through its partnerships with GNPower Mariveles Energy Center and GNPower Dinginin, joined local stakeholders Monday to plant 500 mangrove saplings in Bataan to mark World Wetlands Day.

The planting took place at the Orani Mangrove Conservation and Protection Project site in Barangay Kabalutan. Volunteers from the Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office, Bataan Peninsula State University, and the Tubo-tubo Fisherfolk Association participated in the event.

The group planted Avicenna and Sonneratia mangrove varieties across a 10-hectare marshland. The initiative is part of Project TRANSFORM Baka1Bataan, a large-scale effort to rehabilitate coastal areas and protect them from storm surges, erosion and climate change.

“Through the cooperation of the provincial government, BPSU and AboitizPower, we have shown that protecting nature is a shared responsibility,” Orani Mayor Jon Arizapa said. “These mangroves are not just plants — they are shields for our coastlines and a legacy for the next generation.”

The project, led by AboitizPower and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, aims to create a natural barrier against rising sea levels while providing vital breeding grounds for marine life. This helps sustain the livelihoods of local fishermen who depend on the area’s biodiversity.

This latest effort builds on a previous 2023 initiative that saw the adoption and protection of 20 hectares of mangroves in the region.

Organizers said the long-term goal is to sequester carbon and strengthen the resilience of Bataan’s coastal communities.