Danggit, mangroves tell story of coastal recovery in Prieto Diaz, Sorsogon

In Prieto Diaz, Sorsogon, danggit is more than a local delicacy. The rabbitfish that become the town’s dried fish thrive in nearly 1,000 hectares of seagrass meadows, part of a larger coastal ecosystem of seagrass, coral reefs, and mangroves that supports both the town’s livelihood and its marine life. At the center of Prieto Diaz’s coastal conservation story is an ecosystem that has not always been this healthy. After decades of community-led protection, the town’s coastal habitats have recovered. Today, its mangrove forest spans more than 1,000 hectares, making it one of the largest community-managed mangrove forests in the Bicol region. A Prieto Diaz local paddles his way through the mangrove forest.

All photos by Marky Ramone Go The transformation began in 1993, when the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) selected Prieto Diaz as a pilot site for a coastal rehabilitation project. The program eventually led to the formation of Seagrass, Mangrove, Corals (SEAMANCOR), a community organization whose members became bantay dagat (sea patrol), mangrove wardens, and guides for visitors. The recovery also involved people who patrol the waters, guide visitors through the bakawan, the Tagalog word for mangroves, and monitor the coastal ecosystem. The people behind Prieto Diaz’s mangrove recovery For Victor Emata, a paddler and guide, that work started when he began seeing the mangroves return. He remembers the early rehabilitation efforts in the 1990s, led by the DENR in partnership with the Agta-Tabangnon community and other organizations across the barangays. “Through the protection of the mangroves, we are able to preserve the different mangrove species that can thrive here, as well as the other species like different birds, that depend on the mangrove…