Doot Beach Disaster: What's next?

Originally posted by Steven Egay at http://gigaquitnons.ning.com/

May I venture to say that Doot beach's recent erosion has been caused by many years of nature's activities. The combination of factors like the constant battering of the sea to our shorelines, aggravated by Global Warming and the thinning of Doot's natural protection . . . the mangroves.

Some lessons can be learned and hopefully present and future generations of Gigaquitnons will take heed. One of this is the importance of mangroves or "kabakhawan" in our local dialect. If you observe the available photos and video's of the eroded areas, it is only at the center near the bridge that are affected. Particularly the areas where there are no more mangoves. Whenever I visit Doot beach several times and several years back, I personally noticed that the sands near the bridge seemed to be continuously moving towards the river side. In contrast, the areas where there are mangrove trees seemed to hold their ground. To me, the way the new contour of the beach after the erosion is not very surprising. It just confirmed my observation. Though we enjoyed the beautiful sights in the past decades as coconut trees and cottages certainly makes for a better view compared to mangrove trees, the consequence is disastrous. And we have paid for it now.

So why is that nothing seemed to have been done to prevent it? As far as my limited knowledge is concerned, there is currently a 3-point Environmental project of the local government in conjunction with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. More details on this in Gigaquit Online once we get the information but in my understanding, it involves the upland areas, coastal management and riverbanks management. Unfortunately, this is already too late to save Doot.

So what now? We have a damaged natural heritage before us. The feeling of gloom is normal. But then, time comes that we wipe out our tears and see clearly the situation before us. To me, this is an opportunity. We may not be accustomed by the new look of Doot but by using our Gigaquitnon creativity, we can make something new, something beautiful out of the new terrain. How about planting mangroves then build criss-crossing footbridges and tree houses on the site of the damaged area? Just one idea . . . maybe YOU have more.

In addition, I learned from Mayor Carlos Egay, Sr. that the reason why there is currently a seawall stretching from the bridge up to the Public Market, is because in the 1950's the same thing happened to Doot Beach. It was badly damaged so that the waves reached the town's river banks due to overflowing waters. But later on the sands of Doot beach returned to its former beauty. As Mayor Egay said "mobalik ra iton". On that note, let me end this blog post.

Click this very good reference on mangroves:

http://www.inchinapinch.com/hab_pgs/marine/mangrove/mangrove.htm