Wetlands provide protection against floods and serve as a natural water impounding area. They are also a source of food and water not only for humans but also for the animals, said Reginaldo Bueno, an officer at the DENR 7’s Conservation and Development Division, during the “Kapihan sa PIA” forum
last week.
In Central Visayas, Bueno said the DENR 7 has identified 56 inland wetlands and at least 316 across the country.
Bueno said the DENR 7 has declared some wetlands as protected areas such as Danao Lake in Camotes Islands and Lake Lanao in the town of Daanbantayan.
The DENR 7 observed on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, the World Wetlands Day, a global awareness and effort to reverse the rapid destruction of wetlands across the world.
Republic Act 11038, or National Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas) Act of 1992, states that wetlands involve a variety of inland habitats such as marshes, peatlands, floodplains, rivers and lakes, and those in the coastal areas such as salt marshes, mangroves, intertidal mudflats and seagrass beds and also coral reefs and including other marine areas that are no deeper than six meters at low tide, as well as it considers human-made wetlands such as dams, reservoirs, rice paddies and wastewater treatment ponds and lagoons.
Sanctuary
One of the most recognized wetlands in Cebu is the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Lapu-Lapu City that supports a large concentration of migratory waterbirds in the country. It has been recognized internationally on Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance since 1994.
Lorenz Gideon Esmero of the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary said in the same forum
organized by the Philippine Information Agency Central Visayas that the migratory birds came from the northern hemisphere traveling the East Asian-Australasian Flyway before the cold and winter season.
The sanctuary serves as a stopover for migratory birds as it provides habitat for the birds’ staging, wintering and roosting and it also provides food for the birds before they travel to the southern hemisphere.
Esmero added that Olango Island also serves as the monitoring station for the population of these waterbirds, particularly those endangered animals. The data are shared in the international community.
The bird migration, he said, has helped in the development, livelihood and tourism industry of Olango Island. In return, residents have become more involved in the preservation of the area.
The sanctuary was opened on Thursday with activities for at least 30 participants that included bird watching and identifying birds.
He added that the Lapu-Lapu City Government had set up measures in protecting the wetland, such as deputizing personnel to watch over the area and enforce environmental laws to protect the sanctuary.
The DENR 7 has prepared an awareness campaign and orientation program to profile identified wetlands and address threats.
Esmero stresses the importance of restoring the ecological structure and functions of wetlands to preserve them.