Anything Under the Sun
Guimaras -- the Emerald Isle (3)
On the rich resources -- Guimaras is a seaweed country. Beneath its coastal waters is an undersea garden teeming with different marine plants of different species. It serves as the vegetable garden of the fishes around the island. Because of these sea weeds, coral reefs (which house the small marine animals) abound. Unfortunately, as of this writing, already many hectares of these seaweed gardens have been destroyed. As of this writing, in Nueva Valencia alone, 42 hectares are already damaged.
Another natural resources in the island are the mangroves. Mangrove areas produce plankton -- microscopic green plants on which the small fishes feed. In turn, these small fishes are eaten by larger fishes which go out into the sea to be eaten by larger fishes. Thus, the plankton is the basic marine food without which marine life could hardly exist.
Mangroves also serve as buffer areas between the seas and the coasts protecting the latter from soil erosion, typhoons, high waves and high tides.
Mangroves in Guimaras also serve as sanctuaries of birds migrating from Asian mainland like herons (white-tulabong and golden-dugwak), wild duck (gakit), egrets (dapayan), snipes, warblers and Asian sarus crane -- the largest flying bird in the world. Again, unfortunately, 105 hectares of mangroves, as of this writing, are already destroyed in Nueva Valencia alone.
Guimaras is not only a fishing country. It is also an agricultural country which boasts of producing the "sweetest mango in the world". It is also a leading producer of cashew nuts in the country.
It is feared that the toxic fumes emitted from the bunker oil carried by the wind from the seacoasts will be hazardous to plants thus reducing by 40 per cent agricultural production. These toxic fumes are also harmful to poultry and livestock (cattle and goats) for which the island-province is also noted.
In fact, the affected shores are littered with dead birds, animals and dying plants.