BUTUAN CITY (MindaNews / 03 December) – The Philippines now has a total of 10 sites listed under the Ramsar Convention’s Wetlands of International importance, following the recent addition of two new sites, both located in Mindanao.
The 9th site is the Sibugay Wetland Nature Reserve in Zamboanga Sibugay and the 10th is the Del Carmen Mangrove Reserve (DCMR) in Siargao Island.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) officially announced and awarded the certificates to these two new Ramsar sites last November 25 during the 10th Asian Wetland Symposium in Quezon City.
“These globally significant designations spotlight the Philippines’ unwavering commitment to safeguarding its rich natural heritage and its critical role in advancing the Ramsar Convention’s vision of protecting wetlands for people, biodiversity, and the planet,” the DENR stated in a Facebook post.
According to the Ramsar website, the Sibugay Wetland Nature Reserve is a wetland complex surrounded by nine municipalities and 64 coastal barangays in Zamboanga Sibugay. It serves as a bay hosting thousands of migratory waterbirds, which use the wetland as a staging site during the migratory season.
The DCMR, meanwhile, is a complex of shallow marine waters, sandy shores, intertidal flats, and mangroves. The mangroves within the site span 4,871 hectares, forming the largest contiguous mangrove forest in the Philippines. They provide a connection between intertidal flats and upland forests, enabling birds that depend on both habitats to move between them.
Ramsar also noted that of the 245 animal species present in the DCMR, 20 percent are endemic to the Philippines, including the vulnerable Philippine duck (Anas luzonica) and the southern rufous hornbill (Buceros mindanensis).
Mangrove Matters PH (MMPH), a youth-led organization focused on marine conservation with an emphasis on mangrove forests, stated on its Facebook page that the designation of these two Ramsar sites demonstrates the Philippines’ progress toward the 30×30 initiative, which aims to protect 30% of the Earth’s land and oceans as protected areas by 2030.
“Hoping for more Ramsar sites to come in the country to protect biodiversity, communities, and advance climate change resilience,” MMPH said.
Del Carmen Mayor Alfredo Matugas Coro II told MindaNews via Messenger chat that the official declaration of the DCMR marks a turning point for the town, transforming its outlook “from illegal activities as a norm to conservation as a way of life.”
“The Del Carmen Mangrove Reserve is our source of food, it shelters us from storm surges, provides new livelihoods through ecotourism activities, and preserves the history of our culture,” Coro added.
With the addition of these two sites, Mindanao now has three Ramsar Sites. The first, the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Agusan del Sur, was declared in 1999.
The seven other wetlands on the Ramsar list are:
-Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, Palawan
-Sasmuan Pampanga Coastal Wetlands
-Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area
-Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Cebu
-Naujan Lake National Park, Oriental Mindoro
-Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Palawan
-Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park
According to the Ramsar website, the inclusion of a wetland in the list embodies the government’s commitment to taking the necessary steps to ensure the site’s ecological character is maintained.
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty whose mission is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world.” (Ivy Marie A. Mangadlao / MindaNews)
