Planting 10 thousand mangrove trees in Kep Province

The Academic community of Don Bosco Kep as a member of the Don Bosco Green Alliance and the Department of Environment of Kep Province, Cambodia led by Mr. In Sao, joined together for the project of Mangrove Planting at the west coast of the Kep peninsula, just one km at the north of the Don Bosco Kep’s campus.

On 29 August 2024 early morning, 500 students and teachers of Don Bosco, a group of members of the Kep District made of farmers, fishermen and community leaders, representatives from the department of environment and Kep city hall, opened the program that has the goal to plant 10 thousand mangrove trees in the area.

The area known as the Mangrove Forest, located at the Thmey Village, Prey Thom Commune, has an extension of one km and it has been designated by the community and the authorities as a protected area. The planting will increase its extension and capacity of environment balance between the sea tides and the coast at the Kep Bay.

Cambodia, with coast in the Gulf of Siam and several rivers and lakes, is rich in mangroves, being a country of a great tropical biodiversity of plants and animals from thousands of species, many of them endemic to the Indochina peninsula. Mangroves are important for ecosystems and human living because they guarantee coastal protection, functioning as natural barriers against storm surges, waves, and coastal erosion. Their dense root systems stabilize shorelines and reduce the impact of storms and flooding.

Mangroves are also a biodiversity hotspot, providing critical habitats for a wide variety of marine and terrestrial species. They serve as nurseries for fish, crustaceans, and mollusks, and offer nesting sites for many bird species. At the same time, they become a natural water quality improvement, filtering pollutants and trap sediments from the water, improving water quality and protecting nearby coral reefs and seagrass beds.

In a time of global warming, mangroves are also vital for carbon sequestration, due to their highly efficiency at capturing and storing carbon dioxide, making them vital in the fight against climate change. They store up to four times more carbon per hectare than tropical rainforests.

Finally, our mangroves are the main supporters of fisheries and tourism providing livelihoods for many coastal communities. They also help prevent property damage from natural disasters, saving billions of dollars annually.

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