MANILA, Philippines--The Bureau Of Fisheries And Aquatic Resources is set to plant at least six million mangrove saplings in a bid to rehabilitate 17 key coastal and watershed areas nationwide.

Through the national and regional Mangingisdang Direktor program, BFAR will start implementing on May 26 the mangrove and watershed rehabilitation project.

The Mangingisdang Direktor program was initiated four years ago. It aims to provide fisherfolk leaders a glimpse of the government?s regular operations by trading places with BFAR officials.

Under this program, fisherfolk leaders will perform all routinary functions of BFAR directors except those involving financial and policy related matters.

According to national Mangingisdang Direktor Milagros Chavez, her group would be undertaking this nationwide tree planting program in response to the threats posed by global warming.

"These threats would seriously affect the country, especially the coastal communities," Chavez said.

"In Taal Lake for instance, May is supposed to be the season for tawilis, a herring-like marine species. However, many fishermen had been complaining of minimal catch," Chavez added.

To address these concerns, Chavez said they will plant trees in coastal and watershed areas since these could help protect the shoreline from destructive effects of natural calamities and of soil erosion due to prolonged rainfall.

She added that watershed areas would be planted with saplings appropriate to an area's soil conditions and temperature.

Chavez, along with 16 other program regional directors, will man the BFAR offices for the whole month in celebration of the Farmers and Fisherfolks month.