Mangroves perform a crucial role in maintaining the ecological integrity of the coastal ecosystem. They act as filters in the coastal zone, preventing the damaging effects of upland sediments on seagrass beds and coral reefs, minimise the effects of storm surges and act as carbon sinks that mitigate climate change. These essential services, however, are degraded through indiscriminate cutting, conversion of mangrove swamps to fishponds, reclamation projects and other coastal developments and pollution. Experts reveal that the Indo-Malay Philippine Archipelago has one of the highest rates of mangroves loss. From an estimated 500,000 hectares of mangrove cover in 1918, only 120,000 hectares of mangroves remain in the Philippines today.