The Philippines is Losing its Seagrass and its Dugongs

It started with a simple question for the Rotary Club of San Juan del Monte: What happens to our marine life when the seagrass disappears?

As our club became more involved in studying and exploring seagrass ecosystems, we began to understand how important these underwater meadows really are.

Seagrass provides food, shelter and nursery grounds for many marine species. It helps keep our waters healthy, protects the seabed and our coastlines, and stores carbon. But for one particular marine animal, seagrass is even more important.

For the dugong, or sea cow, seagrass is its main source of food and an important part of its habitat.

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Sadly, our seagrass meadows are disappearing. Studies estimate that 30 to 50 percent of Philippine seagrass meadows have already been lost or degraded. Pollution, sedimentation, coastal development, tourism and other human activities continue to put pressure on the areas that remain.

For something so important to our oceans, seagrass is still rarely talked about.

Then We Saw What Healthy Seagrass Can Do

During one of our club's dive expeditions and research activities for seagrass, our team visited Calauit Island in Busuanga, Palawan.

There, we saw something that gave even more meaning to what we had been studying. Dugongs were still there.

Two of the dugongs known in the area are Aban and Pingas. They can still be seen feeding in the seagrass meadows.

Seeing dugongs living and feeding where seagrass is still healthy showed us something very simple.

Protect their food and habitat, and we give them a better chance to survive.

It also made us think. If more areas in the Philippines still had healthy seagrass meadows, perhaps we would be seeing more dugongs in our waters today.

That experience strengthened one of the reasons behind the Rotary Club of San Juan del Monte's SEAGRASS: Sea of Life, our initiative for the restoration, rehabilitation and protection of seagrass meadows.

But How Do We Get More People Involved?

As we worked on the project, we saw another challenge. Traditional seagrass planting normally requires a person to scuba dive, freedive, swim, or physically enter the water to plant on the seabed.

That means only a limited number of people can actually participate.

So RCSJDM introduced a different and more accessible way of planting seagrass using biodegradable seed bags.

The biggest difference is that you do not have to be a diver. You do not even have to know how to swim to participate.

This opened the project to more people. Rotarians, students, fisherfolk, families, community members and volunteers can now be involved in a part of marine restoration that was previously difficult for them to participate in.

For our club, this is important because protecting the environment should not belong only to divers, scientists or environmental groups. The more people who understand seagrass and become involved in its restoration, the better chance we have of protecting what is left.

Restoration With Science Behind It

We also know that planting is only the first step.

It is easy to count how many seeds or seed bags were planted. The more important questions come afterward.

Did they germinate? Did they grow? Did they survive? Can they eventually become part of a healthy seagrass meadow?

This is why the Rotary Club of San Juan del Monte is collaborating with the Cavite State University Research and Development Department for the scientific aspect of the project.

Through research and monitoring, we are studying the results of the planting, the growth and survival of the seagrass, the conditions of the planting sites and the improvements that can still be made to the method.

Our purpose is not simply to conduct a planting activity. We want to know if what we are doing works.

And if it does, we hope that this approach can be improved and eventually brought to more coastal communities in the Philippines.

The story of Aban and Pingas reminds us why this matters.

They are still there because there is still seagrass to feed on and a habitat that can support them.

But not every part of the Philippines is as fortunate.

We still have seagrass meadows to protect. We still have areas that can be restored. And we still have dugongs swimming in Philippine waters.

We should not wait until they are gone before we realize what we have lost.

This is why the Rotary Club of San Juan del Monte continues SEAGRASS: Sea of Life.

Because protecting the dugong begins with protecting the place that gives it life.

Protect Seagrass. Protect Dugongs. Sustain Life.

SEAGRASS: Sea of Life

An environmental initiative of the Rotary Club of San Juan del Monte