Sinandigan Mangrove Reforestation

Overview

Sinandigan Mangrove Reforestation is a community-based coastal rehabilitation project in Barangay Sinandigan, Ubay, on Bohol’s eastern coast. The initiative involves replanting and restoring mangrove forest, led by multiple organizations including the Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation (CCEF) and the Ubay local government. Sinandigan was one of the first sites in Bohol where mangrove planting was undertaken — the program started in the late 2000s.

The restored mangrove belt does three jobs at once: it buffers coastal communities against storm surge, supports marine biodiversity as nursery habitat for fish and invertebrates, and generates livelihood income through ecotourism. Community-based mangrove rehabilitation has been a fixture of Philippine coastal conservation policy since the 1980s; Sinandigan is a provincial example of that national approach put into local practice.

Visitors arrive by boat and are guided through the mangrove channels, spotting different mangrove species along the way and the coastal scenery beyond them.

Why Mangroves, Why Here

The Philippines lost roughly half its mangrove cover over the 20th century to fishpond conversion, coastal development, and firewood cutting, and national policy has pushed community-based replanting as the main correction since the 1980s. Eastern Bohol’s Camotes Sea coastline is directly exposed to typhoons tracking in from the Pacific, which makes the calculation behind Sinandigan’s program a fairly plain one: a healthy mangrove belt slows storm surge and absorbs wave energy before it reaches the shoreline, while a stripped one leaves houses and farmland fully exposed. Sinandigan’s status as one of Bohol’s earliest planting sites means the belt here has had roughly two decades to mature into the dense root systems that do that buffering work — younger replanting projects elsewhere on the coast are still years from reaching the same structural density.

What the Mangroves Support

A mature mangrove stand functions as a nursery for juvenile fish, crabs, and shrimp, which shelter among the submerged roots before moving out to open water and reef habitat as adults — the same fish and shellfish that later show up in the Ubay public market’s daily catch. That nursery role is also where the ecotourism income comes from: guided boat tours through the channels are a direct, low-infrastructure way for the barangay to turn conservation work into a bit of household income, rather than the reforestation being a pure cost with no local payback.

Location

Barangay Sinandigan, Ubay municipality, eastern Bohol. The reforestation area is on the coast, close to the BFAR Multispecies Hatchery and the Sinandigan Giant Clams sanctuary — all three can be visited in a single half-day stop.

Getting There

Ubay is approximately 90 km from Tagbilaran City via the trans-island highway. From Ubay town, proceed to Barangay Sinandigan by tricycle or private vehicle. Boat tours of the mangroves depart from the barangay shoreline. Boat hire rates, tour duration, and how to arrange a guide are not consistently published — confirm these directly with barangay officials or local boatmen before visiting.

Practical Info

• Barangay: Sinandigan, Ubay
• Program start: late 2000s
• Key organizations: CCEF, Ubay LGU
• Access: boat tour (guided)
• Boat hire fee: not consistently published; confirm current rates directly with local boat operators or the barangay before your visit

What to Expect

A boat ride through restored mangrove channels. The guide can identify mangrove species and explain the forest’s ecological role. The bay is visible between the mangrove stands, and marine life — fish, crabs, shellfish — turns up in the root systems. The experience is low-key and educational rather than a packaged tourist attraction.

Pairing with the nearby Giant Clams sanctuary and BFAR Hatchery makes sense logistically; both are within Barangay Sinandigan.

Notes

• Mangroves are critical to Bohol’s coastal resilience — Typhoon Pablo (2012) and Typhoon Odette (2021) both caused storm surge damage in eastern Bohol, underscoring the practical value of this buffer.
• Ubay’s coastal households rely on the same fish and shellfish stocks that mangrove nurseries like this one support, tying the reforestation project directly to the town’s everyday food supply rather than only to abstract conservation goals.
• Source: BPTO Table 11 — Inventory of Tourist Attractions (2025 Bohol Tourism Profile)