Cebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines’ leading airline, has partnered with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. One to Tree program (RAFI OTT) to support the conservation and restoration of mangroves in Cebu.
CEB and RAFI signed a memorandum of agreement to jointly enhance a mangrove plantation in Barangay Tapon, Dumanjug, Cebu. The project aims to plant 10,000 mangrove seedlings across an estimated 10 hectares of mangrove area.
On 22 July 2023, volunteers from both parties jumpstarted the project by planting seedlings in Bgy. Tapon, Dumanjug Cebu.
“We believe that nature-based solutions such as this mangrove plantation project have a critical role to play in removing carbon from the atmosphere. This initiative allows us to achieve three objectives – mitigating the impacts of carbon emissions to the environment, improving disaster resilience of coastal communities, and providing livelihood support to the Dumanjug community,” said Alex Reyes, Cebu Pacific’s Chief Sustainability Officer.
CEB and RAFI will work closely with the Tapon Fisherfolks Association and offer extensive training in the areas of mangrove plantation design, nursery management, and mangrove seedling production, site preparation and plantation establishment, and plantation maintenance and monitoring.
Income augmentation to participating members of the fisherfolk association will also be given through the labor provided for the planting site preparation and establishment and plantation maintenance, and purchase of seedlings.
“We are excited to launch this mangrove rehabilitation partnership with Cebu Pacific. Through our shared values towards biodiversity conservation, we will be able to enhance the mangrove forest in the municipality of Dumanjug and build a more sustainable and disaster-resilient community. It truly takes everyone’s help now to build a sustainable tomorrow,” said Antony Dignadice, RAFI OTT Program Director.
The partnership will run for three years. It includes the identification, establishment, planting, maintenance, and monitoring of the mangrove plantation in the Municipality of Dumanjug. More than 20 community partners from the fisherfolk association will be involved in the project.
“There are about 40 CEB volunteers alongside our partners who participated in this CEB Mangrove Forest Enhancement and Rehabilitation Project. Most are Manila-based who spent for their own accommodation. This is a testament that the spirit of volunteerism on sustainability initiatives is very much alive among CEB employees. On top of this initiative, we have also transitioned to zero emission electric vehicles for employee shuttle service and are currently evaluating onsite solar power installation to supply renewable energy for our key buildings,” said Felix Lopez, Cebu Pacific’s Chief Human Resources Officer.
In a review of 335 studies conducted by scientists from the University of the Philippines, the Philippines suffered the second-worst loss of mangroves in Southeast Asia over a two-decade period. Philippine mangroves suffered a 10.5 percent decline between 1990 and 2010.
For many coastal communities, mangrove forests provide livelihoods and critical protection from the onslaught of typhoons. These dense coastline forests are home to diverse ecosystems, where fish swim and grow among trees and find needed shelter to reproduce.
CEB, which is the Philippine leader in propelling decarbonization in the aviation industry, has also begun other initiatives to minimize the environmental impacts of its operations.
By 2028, CEB intends to operate an all-NEO (New Engine Option) fleet that consumes less fuel and has reduced carbon emissions. CEB has also incorporated the use of blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in its operations and continues to strengthen its supply network for sourcing SAF.
The company has also transitioned to zero emission electric vehicles for employee shuttle service and is likewise currently evaluating onsite solar power installation to supply renewable energy for its key buildings.
𝑅𝐴𝐹𝐼 𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑇𝑜 𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑒 (𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎𝑠 𝑅𝐴𝐹𝐼 𝐵𝑖𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡), ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 80% 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝑅𝐴𝐹𝐼 𝑂𝑇𝑇 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐶𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑡 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑔𝑜𝑎𝑙𝑠.
