Nadine Lustre questions ‘progress’ as Siargao mangroves face destruction

The actress and environmental advocate warns that destroying protected ecosystems could leave future generations more vulnerable to calamities.

Nadine Lustre warns of mangrove destruction, questions ‘progress’ at nature’s expense

For Nadine Lustre, protecting the environment is not simply about saving nature, it is about protecting the people who depend on it.

Asked what Filipinos still need to understand about environmental protection, the actress and musician pointed to the vulnerability of protected areas, particularly Siargao’s mangroves.

“A lot of people don’t really know how to protect it to begin with, which is really sad,” Lustre said, explaining that “once protected ecosystems are destroyed, some may never fully recover.”

She stressed the importance of Siargao’s mangroves because the island sits along a typhoon path. “If these mangroves are destroyed, paano na lang ang next generation? They might suffer when there’s another calamity.”

For Lustre, environmental protection also means recognizing nature’s role in sustaining human life. “It really is the one sustaining us,” she said, while acknowledging that development remains important—but questioning whether progress must come at the expense of the environment.

“Do we really have to make progress and let everything else get destroyed?” she asked.

Lustre has consistently used her platform for environmental advocacy, campaigning against ecological neglect and tourist exploitation in Siargao, alongside local groups such as the Siargao Environmental Awareness Movement. She has also served as an honorary park ranger for Masungi Georeserve and spoken against illegal tree-cutting and garbage dumping on Aeta ancestral lands in Subic.

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