Mark of Pride: An Alumna’s Triumph Against the Ongoing Battle with Climate Change

Coastal development, population growth, climate change, and the loss of habitat are all factors that are increasing the severity of the impacts of coastal flooding. The presence of mangroves acts as a first line of defense against erosion and flooding. They also reduce the impact of waves and storm surges. Mangroves can also provide adaptive defenses because, given the right conditions, they can keep pace with the rise in sea level through a process called vertical accretion. In national budgets and wealth accounts, the monetary worth of mangroves in terms of the services that are dependent on their preservation, such as flood protection, is typically not taken into account. Estimates of the benefits of flood protection have traditionally been restricted to studies conducted at the local and national scales.

On October 19, 2022, the top award for environmental action was given to the Bonuan Boquig National High School, which is located in Dagupan City, Pangasinan. The announcement was made during a press conference in London, United Kingdom, via YouTube live. The T4 World’s Best School for Environmental Action Prize was established to recognize the significance of youth, students, and schools in climate action that engage with potential solutions to the problems posed by global warming. The school’s Mangrove Planting Project, with Professor Maria Linda Roman-Ventenilla as project lead, which was initiated in 2010 after a massive flooding event that destroyed hundreds of hectares of bangus (milkfish) ponds, was selected as the winning entry. During that time, Professor Maria Linda Roman-Ventenilla was serving as the principal of the school. Over 100,000 mangroves have been planted since it started. Currently, she is the chief of the City Schools Division’s curriculum implementation division.

The fact that Professor Maria Linda Roman-Ventenilla attended and graduated from our very own University of Luzon is a source of immense pride for all of us here at UL. Professor Roman-Ventenilla is just one more example of the kind of brilliant, ambitious leader that our school has a history of turning out—people who go on to leave an indelible mark on the world. We are grateful to her for her advocacy and the active implementation of projects that assist in the fight against climate change and the degradation of the environment, a problem that humanity can only overcome through cooperation and collaboration.

Professor Roman-Ventenilla was a former faculty member of the College of Liberal Arts and an esteemed graduate of the said college, batch 1987.

Related Links

World’s Best School Prizes: Bonuan Boquig National Highschool, Philippines
BBNHS is T4 World’s Best School in Environmental Action