Bakhawan Eco-Park
The Bakhawan Eco-Park is a mangrove forest located in Kalibo, Aklan, Philippines. The mangrove reforestation project started in 1990 when the local government and several non-government organizations transformed the muddy shoreline of Barangay New Buswang into a mangrove reforestation site to prevent flood and storm surges in the community. The park is dubbed as the Philippines' most successful mangrove reforestation project. The Eco-park is operated by the Kalibo Save the Mangroves Association. The word "bakhawan", in the local dialect, means "mangrove".
History
The Bakhawan Eco-Park was created on 1990, the purpose of the reforestation project was to prevent floods and storm surges during bad weather in the local community. The reforestation project started with of reclaimed land in Barangay New Buswang created by the Kalibo Save The Mangroves Association, a non-government organization, with the help of the local government of Kalibo, Aklan and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The mangrove reforestation project did not only address the community’s flood problems but it also gave a means of livelihood for the local people in the area. The project was hailed as one of the exemplary forests managed in the whole of Asia and the Pacific by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.On January 22, 2014, the Provincial Capitol of Aklan, headed by the Economic Enterprise Development Department, planted 8,000 new mangrove propagules on a area of the Eco-park. The mangrove-planting activity was aimed to minimize climate change and to replace the mangrove trees that were destroyed due to Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).