Small-scale fishers who replanted their own mangroves
A fishing association in Kabasalan, Philippines, replanted mangroves on abandoned fishponds and rebuilt the coastal fishery its families depend on.
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The small thing
In 1986 Roberto Ballon and fellow small-scale fishers in Concepcion formed an association and began planting mangroves along their shoreline.
The problem
By the mid-1980s mangroves along Sibuguey Bay were being cleared for fishponds and charcoal, and illegal practices such as dynamite fishing and fine-mesh nets were common. Fish became scarce and fishers had to travel further out to sea, spending more on fuel and time.
Why Ka Dodoy and the KGMC fishers started
Ballon told The ASEAN Magazine that he saw mangroves as the basis of marine life and of his community's food and livelihoods, and that by the mid-1980s those were disappearing. The Forest Foundation Philippines says KGMC was organised to address overfishing and mangrove destruction in the bay.
What they did
The association planted mangroves on denuded shoreline and abandoned fishponds, set fish traps in the replanted areas and later moved into oyster and grouper culture. Ballon developed a seed propagation method for the mangrove species pagatpat (Sonneratia alba), which the Forest Foundation Philippines supported with technical advice.
KGMC secured a co-management agreement with the national environment department and local government covering 47 hectares of mangroves, runs community sea patrols, and has a savings club for women and young people. In 2013 KGMC and 33 other fisherfolk groups formed a provincial coalition, which Ballon chairs, and the model has been shared with communities in other provinces.
What changed
According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, citing the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, members' catch rose from about 1.5 kg in an eight-hour trip to about 7 kg in three to five hours. A 2000 government assessment cited by The ASEAN Magazine credited the group with restoring about 50 hectares of mangrove cover, and the Forest Foundation Philippines reports about 71 hectares reforested under a 2007 project and at least 600 hectares managed across four municipalities with grant support from 2008 to 2015. UNDP, announcing the 2023 Equator Prize, gives a much larger figure of 10,000–12,000 hectares restored in the province; these figures cover different areas and are not independently reconciled. Ballon received the 2021 Ramon Magsaysay Award.
What they learned
Ballon has said that fishers showed they could protect mangroves even without government support, and that change needs to be visible to keep people involved.
“We have demonstrated that we could protect our mangroves even without government support”Roberto "Ka Dodoy" Ballon and the Kapunungan sa Gagmay'ng Mangingisda sa Concepcion (KGMC), as quoted by The ASEAN Magazine (ASEAN Secretariat)
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Practical guidance written by our editors from the sources below. Adapt it to your place, and check local rules and safety first.
- Problem addressed
- Loss of coastal mangroves and declining near-shore fish catches.
- What to do
- Organise local fishers to replant native mangroves, protect them with community patrols and build livelihoods around the restored area.
- Materials and resources
- Locally collected propagules or seedlings of native mangrove species, a simple nursery, boats for patrols, record-keeping.
- Approximate cost
- Low
- Skills
- Local knowledge of tides and species; nursery skills; group organising; working with local authorities on tenure or co-management.
- Time
- Years to decades; mangroves take several years to establish.
- People needed
- A core group of committed fishers, ideally with family and youth involvement.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Risks and limitations
- Planting the wrong species or in the wrong zone; tenure disputes over fishponds; members leaving if benefits are slow; illegal cutting.
- How to adapt it
- Take advice from foresters or marine scientists on species and site; seek formal co-management rights before investing heavily.
- Lessons learned
- Small, visible gains help keep members involved; formal agreements with authorities can protect the work over time.
Why it matters
One fishing association cannot reverse mangrove loss across Southeast Asia. But KGMC shows how people who depend on a coastline can restore it themselves, and how restored mangroves can support the catch and incomes of the families who look after them.
Policy connection
International commitments this kind of action contributes to. Listing a framework does not mean the person or group was working towards it.
- Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Targets 2, 3 and 22: Restoration, area-based conservation, and full participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities, including protection of environmental human rights defenders.
- SDG 14 and SDG 15: Life below water and life on land.
What didn't work
According to Ballon, early approaches to the environment department and local government cost members money for legal documents without bringing help, and membership fell from about 30 to five in 1997–1998, after which the remaining members restored mangroves on their own. He has said some former members wanted capital without doing the work, and that government support for small-scale fishers remains insufficient. A planned hatchery was intended to stop the group taking fingerlings from its own replanted mangroves.
Editor's note
Ballon received the 2021 Ramon Magsaysay Award and KGMC was a 2023 UNDP Equator Prize winner. No news from 2024–2026 was found confirming his current activity, so 'ongoing' rests on the 2023 Equator Prize.
Sources: how do we know?
Evidence level: Documented. Supported by reliable published sources such as UN agencies, award bodies and reputable journalism. Not yet independently re-verified by our editors. What the person says and what independent sources establish are attributed separately in the text.
- un agency
Roberto "Ka Dodoy" Ballon — Joanne Agbisit, The ASEAN Magazine (ASEAN Secretariat), 12 April 2022Supports: Founding of KGMC in 1986, causes of decline, ~50 ha restored (2000 DENR assessment), 47 ha co-management, activities, setbacks (membership fall, lack of support), quote. Edited, translated interview. - reputable journalism
Zambo Sibugay fisherfolk leader among five 2021 Magsaysay awardees — Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1 September 2021Supports: 2021 Ramon Magsaysay Award; catch rose from 1.5 kg in eight hours to 7 kg in three to five hours; mangroves restored on abandoned fishponds. - organisational
Roberto 'Ka Dodoy' Ballon, Forest Foundation partner, receives 2021 Ramon Magsaysay Award — Forest Foundation Philippines, 9 September 2021Supports: 71 ha reforested (2007 project); at least 600 ha managed 2008–2015; pagatpat propagation method; 2013 coalition of 34 fisherfolk associations (funder's own account). - un agency
Ten countries to bag the 2023 Equator Prize — UNDP, 8 August 2023Supports: KGMC named a 2023 Equator Prize winner; UNDP states 10,000–12,000 ha of mangroves restored in Zamboanga Sibugay. - award body
Dream come true: Ramon Magsaysay awardee to get hatchery in Zamboanga Sibugay — Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (from Rappler), 8 September 2021Supports: Planned hatchery so the group would stop taking fingerlings from its replanted mangroves.