A Philippine fishing village says bamboo, oyster shells and coconut husks kept the floods out for two years
A ground-level look at a cheap, nature-based sea defense, including the fishers who lost out.
What happened: Pamarawan, a boat-access-only fishing village on North Manila Bay, built 14 hectares of interlocking bamboo cribs plus oyster shells in coconut-husk nets offshore, a roughly $2 million pilot designed by Dutch firm Haskoning and billed as the Philippines' first nature-based coastal protection project, Mongabay reports. Village officials say they have not flooded in almost two years, including during an August flood that killed 15 people in the province. The cribs trap sediment so mangroves can be replanted.
Why it matters: Bulacan lost more than half its mangroves between 1990 and 2002, and concrete flood projects there are mired in a graft scandal over 'ghost' structures.
How much agreement is there? Some disagreement. Officials and the public works secretary praise it as a model, but more than 50 residents lost income when their fish corrals and oyster farms were displaced, and only some were compensated; the designers warn it is not a blueprint for every coast.
Could someone help? Once the seabed rises, the village will need mangrove planting, a common volunteer activity.
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Nature-based solutions
After exploring Philippine village uses nature to defend against floods with bamboo, shells and husks, the wider approach is explained in Nature-based solutions.
Using natural processes and biodiversity to tackle problems such as climate adaptation, water and food security, and disaster risk.
Wikipedia · Wade · 5 min
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