Frontliner in coastal conservation – Hyacinth Pagara, Vice President of Salay Mangrove Association

Salay Mangrove Association’s 25 active members are the frontliners in mangrove restoration in the Municipality of Salay, Misamis Oriental. During typhoon season, the village of Looc experiences continuous wave action that enters into people’s homes. The community association was established in 2018, and members began replanting mangroves in front of their homes to protect themselves from the likely increase in storm frequency and intensity in the future. 

Our team believes that conservation work is most successful when it involves community participation. Many conservation efforts across the globe owe their progress to community inclusion in decision-making, which empowers them to take ownership in the area, and to protect the resources with which they have grown up. 

In this blog, we want to highlight Hyacinth Pagara, a community leader in Salay Mangrove Association who has been active alongside other community members in restoring mangrove forests in Salay, Misamis Oriental. We had an opportunity to interview her about what mangroves mean to her, and why she thinks they need to be protected for the next generation. She also talked about the struggles that the community faces when mangroves are deforested – especially during typhoon season – and made the case for holding on to hope about protecting the environment. 

As of this writing (Dec.17, 2021), the community of Salay (Misamis Oriental) has been hit by Typhoon Odette (International Name “Rai”)

We will be helping to send relief goods in the next days to come to our partner communities. We rely on your big hearts at this moment. You may donate any amount that we will need to buy for them such as warm food, clothes, rice, face masks, vitamins, sanitary products, children’s milk, and water.