DENR reviewing memo on earth-balling, mangrove relocation for infra projects

Amid concerns from environmental groups, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is reviewing a memorandum that permits “earth-balling” and the relocation of mangroves to give way for infrastructure projects.

“This is actually a part of a continuing discussion that has not yet been concluded. One of the moves towards, hopefully, arriving at conclusion is a study by the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau, which is the research arm of the DENR,” said Mariglo Laririt, assistant director of the DENR – Biodiversity Management Bureau.

Laririt made the remarks at a press conference during the Philippine Mangrove Conference.

Earlier, the Global Mangrove Alliance Philippines urged the DENR “to withdraw or substantially revise” a memorandum dated October 8, 2025, entitled “Interim Operational Guidance and Conditions on the Earth-Balling and Relocation of Mangroves in Exceptional Circumstances.”

The coalition said the policy is “deeply alarming.” 

“While the memorandum claims that mangroves should not be removed or disturbed, it introduces a dangerous loophole: it allows the earth-balling and relocation of mangroves for infrastructure ‘flagship projects’ endorsed by government authorities, once proponents claim that all other mitigation measures have been exhausted,” the group said in a February 25 statement.

“Mangroves are not movable infrastructure [...] The memorandum’s definition of ‘exceptional circumstances’ is dangerously broad. Allowing exemptions for infrastructure projects creates a clear pathway for mangrove removal across the country, particularly in ecologically sensitive coastal areas,” it added. 

Earth-balling is the process of relocating a tree by digging it up along with its root system and the surrounding soil.

Data from the DENR showed that there are 311,400 hectares of mangrove covers in the Philippines.

However, only 109,325.27 hectares are covered by the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS). 

The DENR said a technical working group was also formed to review the memorandum. 

“That was an interim issuance of DENR with the view of reviewing it once more, once all this other information becomes available,” said Laririt. 

“There’s a technical working group that was recently made, designated to champion, to shepherd this process, and to make it as transparent as possible. So when the conclusion of said studies comes, we will have to either revise this memo. In fact, we are working towards an administrative order so it becomes more binding,” she added. — JMA, GMA Integrated News