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Tuesday, January 24, 2017
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BACOLOD City – Three months after it was named the seventh Ramsar site in the Philippines, the Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area was declared an East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) Site Network partner.
The declaration was in time for the observance of the World Wetlands Day on Feb. 2
The EAAF covers 22 countries with about 55 migratory species, or more than 5 million birds.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Negros Island Region announced the recognition on Jan. 20 after receiving confirmation from the Biodiversity Management Bureau on Jan. 19.
“Starting as a community initiative, the [Negro Occidental wetlands are] now an internationally recognized local conservation area, which the national government, through DENR-Negros, fully supports and recognizes,” said Regional Director Al Orolfo.
With a 109.52-kilometer coastline, the province’s wetlands cover 52 coastal barangays in Bago, Himamaylan and Kabankalan cities, and Pulupandan, Valladolid, San Enrique, Pontevedra, Hinigaran, Binalbagan, and Ilog towns.
They are known for their rich and bio-diverse coastal resources, such as mangroves; shellfish like oysters, green mussels, nylon shells, and angel wing shells; shrimps; and crabs, among others.
They are also home to at least three species of globally threatened marine turtles (hawksbill, olive ridley and green sea), as well as Irrawaddy dolphins and at least 73 species of water birds.
Other Ramsar sites in the Philippines were Palawan’s Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, Naujan Lake in Oriental Mindoro, Las Piñas-Parañaque Sanctuary, and Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that emphasizes the conservation and wise use of wetlands primarily as habitat for wildlife and source of livelihood. (PNA)
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