Training Trainers for Mangrove Management: The Davao del Sur Experience

A ‘Provincial Training Team’ organized by the Province of Davao del Sur is carrying on CRMP’s mission to develop dedicated stewards and protectors of mangroves among coastal residents.

by C.E.Yao
Mangrove Specialist, CRMP and Pedro P. Campañano Jr., Community Development Assistant II, Environment and Natural Resource Office, Province of Davao del Sur

n the last two decades, various studies across the tropics have highlighted the importance of mangroves to fisheries and environmental protection, prompting the Philippine government to pursue programs aimed at protecting and rehabilitating the country’s once extensive, but now dwindling, mangrove resources. These studies have shown:

• the direct correlation between shrimp catch and the mangrove area (Martosubroto and Naamin, 1977 in Indonesia; MaCnae, 1974 in Malaysia; and Staples et al, 1985, as cited by Primavera, 1997;
• that detritus is the main source of food for marine life in brackish water
  that 72% of commercial fishes are mangrove-dependent (Primavera, 1992);
• that an average mangrove stand produces 6-8 tons of litterfall (ADB, 1992), which eventually turns to detritus and thus feeds marine life;
• that, for every hectare of mangrove destroyed, about 1 ton of fish/shrimp is also lost per hectare per year;
• that mangroves are teeming with marine life because of their rich nutrient, water turbidity and the presence of proproots, which offer protection (Kraus, 1994), and;
• that, in areas with undeveloped fisheries, annual value of natural products and ecological services generated by mangroves is about US$10,000 (Ronnback, 2000)

From 1989 to 1993, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), after subsidizing mangrove destruction through a $22-million loan for massive, ill-advised fishpond development during the shrimp aquaculture boom in1980s, bankrolled the massive mangrove reforestation in the Philippines (Primavera, 1995) under the ADB Loan I contract reforestation project. The rehabilitation effort failed. Despite the huge amount (Php11,600.00/ha) spent, survival rate was very low, and the program faced many technical and administrative problems. At that time, information on mangrove rehabilitation, especially on such a big scale, was scarce.

Not with standing its poor showing, however, the program succeeded in increasing public awareness of the importance of mangroves, so much so that many local government units (LGUs) were moved to allocate a budget for mangrove planting. Available technology for mangrove rehabilitation was in its infancy, but the LGUs persevered, hoping that survival would improve as they learned new techniques through trial and error, or when the appropriate technology became available.

One of these LGUs was the province of Davao del Sur, which has installed mangrove rehabilitation as a flagship project. In 1990, the province embarked on a 200-hectare mangrove contract reforestation project with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources along the coast stretching from the town of Hagonoy to the municipality of Malita. The plantation was however wiped out by barnacle and nematode infestation.

In 1996, Davao del Sur was chosen as one of six “Learning Areas” of the Coastal Resource Management Project (CRMP), a special project of the DENR assisted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In 1999, through representation made by CRMP Learning Area Coordinator (LAC) Johnette Delegero, the province sought CRMP’s assistance in developing a training program on mangrove management for a Provincial Training Team that it hoped to create.

The request came at a time when demand for training in mangrove management, spurred by increasing interest in mangrove rehabilitation among LGUs, was growing dramatically, and CRMP needed to reach out to the many communities needing its training services in the fastest, most cost-effective, most strategic way. Davao del Sur’s intention to create a Provincial Training Team jibed well with CRMP’s objective to create well-trained, well-equipped Provincial CRM Core Groups that could “echo and re-echo” its training programs and carry on its mission to implement coastal management throughout the Philippines beyond its lifetime.

Davao del Sur would thus have the distinction of having organized CRMP’s first Provincial Training Team (PTT) for Mangrove Management.

Soon-to-be mangrove management trainers listen intently as CRMP Mangrove Management Advisor Dr. Dioscoro Melana (left) lectures

Laying the groundwork
One of the most important tasks of Ms Delegero as CRMP LAC was to secure the commitment and support of of CRMP’s partner-agencies through a Memorandum of Understanding (Yao et al, 1988 and CRMP, Undated). The MOU would ensure that the team would continue to exist beyond the terms of its members’ respective heads of offices.

The three-day training, dubbed as “Trainors’ Training in Mangrove Management”, was held on July 28-30, 1999 at the Office of the Provincial Agriculture (OPAG), Digos City, the capital of Davao del Sur. Participation cut across many sectors, with trainees coming from the different LGUs, DENR, the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), the academe, and NGOs.

CRMP’s Mangrove Management Component (CRMP-MMC) designed a training program that encompassed the wide range of skills and techniques needed by the would-be trainers. It included seven modules, as follows:

1. Mangrove Ecosystem
2. Mangrove Species Identification
3. Nursery Establishment
4. Plantation Establishment and Management
5. Community Based Forest Management (CBFM)
6. Livelihood Option
7. Planting Plan and Design
   

Organizing the team
Members selected one or two subjects to specialize in, based on their background and experience. They also took it upon themselves to study another topic as a ‘minor subject’, to ensure that speakers are always available when needed (see Table 1).

Table 1. The Provincial Training Team

During the first year (1999), funding for the mangrove management training was taken from the provincial government’s Environment and Natural Resources Office. Consequently, as a result of intensive lobbying by the PTT, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board), through the Committee on Environmental Protection, allocated a budget for the training program. Thus, before yearend, on December 7-8, the PTT conducted its first training in Guihing, Hagonoy, Davao del Sur, with 34 participants from the municipalities of Hagonoy, Digos and Sta. Cruz. Most of the participants were members of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Council (FARMC), LGUs, academe, line agencies and private sectors.

One participant, Lucena A. Deluao, a member of the MFARMC of Hagonoy, showed an outstanding aptitude as a trainer and became a regular member of the PTT. She now serves as the PTT’s resource speaker in Mangrove Species Identification (her major subject) and Nursery Establishment and Maintenance (minor).

Remarkably, before the training, Ms Deluao had no experience whatsoever in either of these subjects, but she more than made up for this with her commitment to help coastal residents and her passion for mangroves. Recognizing her expertise, Governor Rogelio E. Llanos hired her as full-time worker under the Provincial Governor Office-Fisheries Unit (PGO-FU).

PTT members and other trainees watch a workshop participant show the proper way to prepare ‘mangrove propagule bags’

Coaching team members
Time constraints prevented the CRMP-MMC from attending and evaluating the first training organized by the PTT. But we were able to attend the second training, and gained important insights that helped the PTT improve the delivery of its training services.

Each training day, we evaluated the trainers’ performance, noting each speaker’s strengths and weakness. We gave them pointers on how to improve their delivery and how to use common public speaking techniques, such as eye contact, voice modulation, audience interaction, and the use and presentation of training materials. We also encouraged other members to make their own assessment of the speakers’ delivery and offer their own comments and suggestions.

This exercise also showed us that we needed to improve our own delivery of our trainer’s training program. We realized, for example, that, for maximum benefit, the training could be extended from three days to four days. This would allow participants a full day of practice sessions under the supervision of the CRMP-MMC.

Coaching, we later learned from the participants themselves, is crucial - it not only improves the trainers’ skills but also boosts their confidence in their own capabilities as resource speakers. PTT members said the coaching we gave them made succeeding trainings both easier and rewarding.

Achieving milestones
As of this writing, the Davao del Sur PTT has conducted 10 trainings (see Table 2) for 438 participants at an average cost of Php150.00 per person per day (compared to Php700 per person per day in the cities and capital towns), and has even helped the BFAR organize a training in Davao City.

Because of these trainings, the communities were able to establish 12 mangrove forest nurseries and planted about 25 hectares in different villages and towns in the province. Both the nurseries and plantation serve as a “learning laboratory” for the members of the PTT as part of their continuing education in mangrove management. The skills and knowledge they learn in the supervision and management of these facilities would be shared later with the community through training and the dissemination of informational materials.

Table 2. Trainings Conducted

Aside from the training, the team also conducted on January 27-28, 2001 a two-day planning workshop on mangrove rehabilitation for the Hagonoy Pilot Community-Based Mangrove Management Project in Guihing, Hagonoy. The workshop, which was sponsored by the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), was organized in preparation for the establishment of a nursery and plantation by the coastal villages of Hagonoy.

The Hagonoy project, which has an initial budget of Php400,000, is an off shoot of two cross-visits of some technical staff of the provincial government and the mayor of Hagonoy to Banacon, Getafe, Bohol, where they toured a man-made bakauan (Rhizophora sp.) plantation.

Noting the PTT members’ commitment and dedication, the provincial government initiated a human resource development program especially designed for the team (see Table 3). Some PTT members were trained in scuba diving, for example, to equip them for marine resource assessment activities. Funding, however, is limited.

Table 3. Skills upgrading

Facing up to the challenge
After one year, the Davao del Sur PTT can count many achievements, and as many challenges. The multi-sectoral composition of the PTT initially presented difficulties in coordinating the members’ schedules. The team has since come up with a workable solution: now one member is assigned as coordinator whose task is to ensure that a speaker for each topic is available when needed. At the community level, FARMC members and deputy fish wardens are tapped to mobilize participants from the community. A new provincial executive order (Provincial E.O. No. 6), meanwhile, has designated the ENRO as the coordinating office for the PTT.

Funding remains inadequate. In its first year, the team made do with a meager budget that barely covered its targets. It is hoping that the adoption of the Davao del Sur Provincial Coastal Resource Management Plan will mean increased funding for mangroves in the coming years. Without financial support, the PTT will be hard-pressed to meet the still growing demand for training from municipal LGUs. There will be a continuing need to produce informational and training materials, recruit new members, and upgrade and update the members’ skills through continuing education and cross-visits.

Having said that, however, there is much that PTT members can do on their own, both individually and as a team. First and foremost, they must persevere in honing their skills. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. They must read and re-read technical publications about mangroves, and where possible, apply what they learn through field exercises (their backyards will do very well as a “laboratory,” where they can try out simple germination and planting trials!). They can help in the monitoring of nurseries and plantations established by the communities - as well as giving them field experience, these facilities offer a rich opportunity to learn new techniques that the trainers can pass on to community residents.

To reduce training costs to the barest minimum, trainers can encourage ‘self-provision’ when organizing trainings by requesting participants to bring their own food. In some of the trainings we helped organize, participants brought rice, rootcrops or banana, and a sponsor provided the viands. This sometimes results in fewer attendees, but is often more rewarding. For one, those who do attend are usually keenly interested in the topic, apply what they learn immediately, and subsequently become dedicated stewards of mangrove plantations. Moreover, training a small number of participants is more effective than training a big group.

The Davao del Sur PTT also would do well to maximize its resources by establishing tie-ups with training institutions such as the regional offices of the Agricultural Training Institute, Regional Fisheries Training Center and the Human Resources Development Division of the DENR. These institutions can lend their resources and provide facilities and venues for training within the region.

Reference

ADB, 1992, Mangrove Forest, A Valuable but Threatened Indo-Pacific Resources: Agriculture Department Staff Paper No.5

Kraus,B. 1994. Mangroves, a Nursery Set for Fishes. Fresi. University, Amsterdam

Primavera, J. 1992
Primavera, J, 1995. Mangroves and Brackish Water Pond Culture in the Philippines, Hydrobiology.295:303-309

Primavera, J. Development and Conservation of Philippines Mangroves: Institutional Issues. Paper Delivered at the 4th Workshop on the Global Wetland Economic Network, Beijer, Stockholm, 17-17 November 1997

Ronnback, P, 2000. The Economic Value of Natural Products and Ecological Services by Mangrove Ecosystems. Science Corner Fall 2000

Yao, C.E, 1998a. Bohol Tree Enterprise Program (BTEP), Philippine Lumberman, 1999

Yao, C.E..1998b. Growing Trees to Save the Forest: LGUs Initiative in the Production of Trees. Occasional Paper, Governance and Local Democracy (GOLD) Project, ARD, USAID

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