Mangrove Matters PH, a youth-led environmental organization focused on marine conservation, joined the Ocean Forum at the BMB Training Center on 28 May to raise awareness about the importance of mangrove forests and the growing threats causing their decline across the country.

The group set up an educational booth during the event, which was hosted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Biodiversity Management Bureau as part of the Month of the Ocean 2026 activities.

Leo Anthony Castro, executive director of the organization, emphasized the critical role mangrove forests play in protecting coastal communities from typhoons and storm surges.

“A 100-meter width of mangrove forest can absorb or lessen the wave height up to 66 percent in times of typhoons and storm surges,” Castro said.

He also explained that mangroves act as natural pollution filters by trapping garbage before it reaches fragile seagrass beds and coral reef ecosystems.

“Before the garbage goes to the fragile seagrass and coral reef ecosystems, they get trapped in the roots and areas where the mangroves are,” he added.

Castro further highlighted mangroves’ role in combating climate change, describing them as effective carbon sinks capable of storing large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere.

“They help in mitigating global warming because they serve as carbon sinks,” he said.

Aside from environmental benefits, Castro noted that mangrove forests can also become sustainable livelihood sources for coastal communities through restoration projects and ecotourism initiatives.

“Mangrove restoration projects, ecotourism, kayaking, mangrove boardwalks. They can earn income through those kinds of activities,” he said.

Despite these benefits, Mangrove Matters PH warned that mangrove forests in the Philippines continue to decline rapidly.

According to the organization, the Philippines currently ranks as the second-fastest country in Southeast Asia in terms of mangrove loss.

The group cited land reclamation, industrial and infrastructure projects, illegal fishpond conversions, illegal cutting, and marine pollution as among the leading causes of mangrove destruction.

Mangrove Matters PH said public awareness remains one of the most important ways people can help protect and expand mangrove forests across the country.