Groups, lawmaker seek halt to DENR’s mangrove earth-balling

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

Environmental groups and a lawmaker are pressing the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to suspend a policy allowing mangroves to be uprooted and relocated for infrastructure projects, warning that the procedure could kill as many as 80% of the trees involved.

House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima joined the campaign amid concern over the damage caused by recent strong typhoons, the southwest monsoon or “Habagat,” and climate change to Filipino lives and livelihoods.

The dispute carries wider public consequences because mangrove forests help weaken waves and storm surges, reduce flooding and coastal erosion, sustain fisheries and protect communities from increasingly destructive climate-related hazards.

Earth-balling is the practice of digging up a tree with its surrounding soil to form a compact, circular mass that protects its roots while it is transported to another location.

The DENR’s Interim Operational Guidelines and Conditions on the Earth-balling and Relocation of Mangroves in Exceptional Circumstances, issued Oct. 8, 2025, establishes the conditions under which mangroves may be cleared and transplanted to accommodate infrastructure.

During the House briefing on the DENR’s proposed 2027 budget on Aug. 26, De Lima questioned why the memorandum had been issued before the government completed consultations and scientific studies on the practice.

“We understand that there is a technical working group (TWG) that was recently created regarding the earth-balling of mangroves. I am wondering why that memorandum was issued at all, even before consultations, or even before the creation of TWG, or a scientific study. What exactly is the survival rate?” De Lima asked during the briefing.

She warned that guidelines described as temporary could effectively become the government’s standing policy for clearing mangroves affected by major projects.

“All of these things should have been confirmed or verified first before allowing the issuance of this memorandum. Yes, it is considered interim operational guidance, but is it really interim, or is it now a de facto policy na mag-allow ng earth-balling of mangroves for flagship infrastructure?” she added.

DENR Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the department had received numerous requests for earth-balling permits involving government projects.

Cuna said the department considered it appropriate, under the sustainable development approach it follows, to issue interim methods and conditions for handling those applications.

The DENR has since consulted its Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau, Biodiversity Management Bureau and Forest Management Bureau, which were asked to study the survival rate of relocated mangroves.

“We’re encouraged by the initial results that have been sent to us already, but for us to be able to to really extensively complete the study, we are targeting December of this year,” the DENR chief said.

De Lima urged the department to disclose the findings more directly, particularly if the survival rate of earth-balled mangroves proves extremely low or close to zero.

She asked the DENR to suspend the memorandum’s implementation while the research and congressional examination continue, if the department is not prepared to withdraw the policy altogether.

Cuna committed to evaluate the memorandum in light of the ongoing developments.

The Zoological Society of London, Global Mangrove Alliance Philippines and Oceana have separately called for the guidelines to be repealed, citing local and international studies that found poor survival among transplanted mangroves.

“Repeal the DENR Guidelines now. Congress must investigate to stop this threat to our remaining mangroves,” said Dr. Jurgenne Primavera, Chief Mangroves Scientific Advisor of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

Primavera, a globally recognized mangrove conservation specialist, questioned why the agency had institutionalized the practice despite receiving scientific evidence indicating low survival rates.

The environmental groups said the research had been presented to the DENR as early as March 2025.

A 2007 China-based study by Wang and Wang found survival rates of only 20% to 25% among two mangrove species 10 months after earth-balling.

A 2014 Australian study by Abbot and Marohasy subsequently recorded mortality after 2.5 years among transplanted mangroves with average trunk diameters exceeding five centimeters.

The groups said those findings are particularly relevant to the Philippines because Zoological Society of London data from five barangays in Ibajay, Aklan, placed the average trunk diameter of mature mangroves at nine to 16 centimeters.

Those Philippine trees are substantially larger than the five-centimeter maximum cited in the Australian study, raising concern that mature mangroves affected by development projects may be even more difficult to transplant successfully.

“Available evidence also indicates that successful earth-balling has been demonstrated primarily for young, small-diameter mangroves. Most trees affected by development projects are mature mangroves, making successful transplantation highly uncertain and ecologically risky,” GMAP said in a statement.

The Philippines hosts at least half of the approximately 65 mangrove species found worldwide, giving the country an unusually large share of global mangrove biodiversity.

Its mangrove cover has nevertheless declined from about 500,000 hectares in the early 20th century to an estimated 285,000 to 311,400 hectares in 2020.

De Lima formalized her objections in July 2026 by filing House Resolution No. 1206, which seeks a congressional inquiry into the DENR memorandum.

The resolution argues that the policy conflicts with the Philippines’ internationally endorsed commitments and could undermine its credibility as a steward of global mangrove conservation.

House Resolution No. 1206 cites Section 99 of Republic Act No. 8550, or the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, as amended by Republic Act No. 10654.

The amended provision prohibits converting mangroves into fishponds or using them for any other purpose. Republic Act No. 10654 renumbered the mangrove-conversion prohibition as Section 99.

The resolution also cites Republic Act No. 8371, or the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997, when mangrove areas proposed for earth-balling are located within ancestral domains.

De Lima further invoked Presidential Proclamation No. 2152, which declared the entire province of Palawan and specified parcels of public land elsewhere in the country as mangrove swamp forest reserves.

The proclamation placed approximately 74,267 hectares under protection for their ecological, scientific, educational and recreational value, subject to future ground surveys and valid private rights. Presidential Proclamation No. 2152 withdrew those areas from entry, sale, settlement and other forms of disposition.

The Global Mangrove Alliance Philippines welcomed the House inquiry as a chance to test the memorandum against scientific evidence, environmental protections and the State’s constitutional obligations.

GMAP described the investigation “as an important opportunity to ensure that decisions affecting our mangroves are guided by science, existing environmental laws, the constitutional right of Filipinos to a balanced and healthful ecology, and the long-term welfare of our communities”.

The alliance said the policy’s mitigation requirements were inadequate to prevent mangrove deaths after the trees are uprooted and transferred.

It also noted that many mangrove-lined coastal areas had been designated as no-build zones after Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the country in 2013.

Haiyan, one of the deadliest storms in recorded Philippine history, killed at least 6,300 people and demonstrated the extreme risks confronting exposed coastal settlements.

“In the spirit of precaution, all earth-balling of mangroves must stop while Congress examines the scientific, legal, and governance questions surrounding the policy,” said GMAP.

Oceana Vice President Von Hernandez said allowing infrastructure projects to remove established mangroves could exchange proven coastal protection for uncertain mitigation measures.

“By allowing earth-balling, the DENR is sacrificing proven nature-based solutions for short-term economic gain. Shouldn’t the DENR be held accountable for reneging on its mandate to protect mangroves and uphold nature-based safeguards especially at a time when every coastal community in the country is under siege from flooding and storm surges?” said Von Hernandez, Oceana Vice President.

The next potential flashpoint is Cancabato Bay in Tacloban City, Leyte, the area widely described as “ground zero” of Super Typhoon Haiyan.

Operators of Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport announced on July 29 that mangroves near the airport would have to be removed for shore-protection infrastructure and a new perimeter road, as well as to reduce bird-strike risks.

Environmental groups said the Tacloban proposal illustrates how a national earth-balling policy could affect mangrove forests well beyond the sites for which the interim guidelines were initially developed.

They maintained that infrastructure should be designed around natural coastal defenses instead of treating established mangrove forests as obstacles that can simply be transferred elsewhere.

As an alternative, the groups pointed to the 40-hectare Floodway Project in Jaro, Iloilo, which they described as an example of integrating infrastructure with an existing mangrove environment.

De Lima is also pushing for a national framework that would treat mangroves and beach forests as essential protective infrastructure.

She filed House Bill No. 8353 to require the establishment of coastal greenbelt zones composed of mangroves and beach forests extending at least 100 meters in width to help prevent coastal erosion.

The measure would also define national policy goals and objectives for managing the country’s mangrove resources.

“The lack of a national policy on mangroves poses a great challenge and has caused existing mangrove protection and rehabilitation efforts to remain ineffective and unsuccessful,” she noted in her bill.

De Lima said the country urgently needs a “comprehensive mechanism” to protect coastal communities and habitats while supporting fisheries and food security.

Oceana, the Zoological Society of London and the Global Mangrove Alliance Philippines have endorsed both the House investigation and the proposed National Coastal Greenbelt Act.

“With climate impacts intensifying, we appeal to President Marcos Jr. to certify the passage of this bill as urgent,” Hernandez added.