Agusan Marsh
Bunawan, Agusan del Sur
Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in the Philippines declared by the former President Fidel V. Ramos. The marshland acts like a sponge, as it is nestled in the midwaters of the Agusan River drainage basin. Within its lakes, several floating communities can be found. The sanctuary was home to the 20.24 feet saltwater crocodile Lolong, the world's largest captive crocodile.
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Agusan Marsh is one of the most ecologically significant wetlands in the Philippines. Found in the heart of Mindanao's Agusan Basin, this vast expanse of marsh covers an area roughly the size of Metro Manila. It contains nearly 15% of the nation's fresh water resources in the form of swamp forests.
In the very heart of the marsh is a semi-permanent lake where many square kilometres of lily pads, hyacinths and other hydrophytic plants spread out like an enormous green quilt. In the dark tea-colored waters live untold numbers of catfish, carp, soft-shell fresh water turtles, and crocodiles.
The tiny community of mostly ethnic Manobos have made their permanent homes deep within the marsh, living on floating homes. The small houses made of bamboo and nipa lashed to hardwood logs, freely rise or fall with the level of the marsh itself. The marsh provides virtually everything the Manobos need. Wiki
Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary News
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'Bantay Danao' Reactivated For Agusan Marsh Protected Area
In an effort to strictly protect the Agusan Marsh Protected Area (AMPA) and other protected areas within and along Agusan River, the Bantay Danao Conservation Group (BDCG) was reactivated in the marsh communities/municipalities of Bunawan, La Paz, Loreto, Rosarion, San Francisco and Talacogon, all in Agusan del Sur province, it was learned Tuesday.
The BDCG was organized in 2017 with 120 Bantay Danao volunteers deputized by the regional office of the DENR in that same year in an objective to protect the Agusan Marsh.
Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary is close to 15,000 hectares protected a ... -
Expanded Nipas Law Creates 94 More Natl Parks Across PH
A landmark law signed by President Duterte in June has declared 94 protected areas as national parks that are now under government protection and management, with government resources mobilized in their conservation.
Under Republic Act No. 11038, or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas) Act of 2018, the protected areas have been put under the control and supervision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), through its Biodiversity Management Bureau.
The new law also requires the Department of Justice to appoint special prosecutors for viola ... -
View Deck Planned For Agusan Marsh
Tourists, both foreign and domestic will soon have a much clearer view of wild birds, particularly migratory birds, because the government is set to build a view deck at Agusan Marsh in Agusan del Sur province.
The project called "Panglabuhan Floating Village Adventours/Bird Watching" will be set up within the municipality of Loreto in Agusan del Sur province.
Regional Director Ma. Ana T. Nuguid of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and agencys regional operation officer Mary Jean A. Camarin told The Manila Bulletin on Thursday that budget allocation of the construction of the view deck is ... -
World Wetlands Day
Last February 2 was World Wetlands Day.
Numerous activities throughout the world were observed to commemorate the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in Ramsar City in Iran. The covenant, also known as the Ramsar Convention, was passed way back on February 2, 1971, but it was only during the past years when it was getting more attention.
Today, the World Wetlands Day is one of the important conservation events in the country. The Philippines is a signatory to this international treaty.
The convention provides a broad definition of wetlands, which include lakes, rivers, underground ... -
Saving Philippine Peatlands
In the middle of a flooded forest, if the water is acidic and the color is somehow dark, like tea, it is not polluted. You may be in a peatland.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has identified nine peatland ecosystems in the country??"mostly within protected areas or in the heart of swampy forests.
The total area of identified peatlands in the Philippines is 20,000 hectares. This is relatively small compared to the country's total land area of 30 million hectares, 15 million hectares of which, having been classified as "forest lands".
DENR officials, however, ... -
Villar Pushes Devt Of MMs Vital Wetland
Sen. Cynthia Villar yesterday cited the importance of the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Eco-Tourism Area (LPPCHEA) as a bird sanctuary and mangrove site on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the habitat's designation as a Wetland of International Importance.
"We don't have to go out of Metro Manila for a place where we could commune with nature. Here is an internationally recognized place, where one can go bird-watching in a setting where diverse species of trees and mangrove thrive," Villar, who chairs the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, said in a ...