SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga—The eight wetland areas in Central Luzon are in danger of being overrun by human activities, prompting government authorities to call for active public support and vigilance in protecting them.
Francisco Milla Jr., regional director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Luzon, stressed that wetlands are very important to the ecosystem, providing benefits both for humans and animals alike, thus his call for their sustainable protection and conservation.
“Wetlands provide benefits to local communities, including freshwater supply, biodiversity, flood control, ground water recharging, and climate change mitigation,” he said.
At the same time, they also serve as sanctuaries for migratory birds because of their rich flora and fauna, Milla said.
The wetlands are now being degraded because of human activities, with some being converted into rice fields and others for duck raising. Overgrown grass, plastic waste and other pollutants result in the declining annual visit of fowls in the areas from October to March each year, the DENR noted.
During the migratory period, different birds from Siberia and elsewhere fly annually to the 32,000-hectare Candaba swamp to hibernate. In a 2008 report, about 17,000 migratory birds visited the area, in contrast to just a thousand this year based on the record of the DENR office here.
“It this reason we launched a sustainable protection and clean-up drive to protect the wetlands against degradation in cooperation with the public,” Milla said.
Apart from the well-known Candaba swamp, other regional wetlands are the Sasmuan sanctuary in Pampanga; Angat Dam in Bulacan; Pantabangan Dam and Paitan Lake in Nueva Ecija; Puerto Rivas in Bataan; Uacan lake in Zambales; and Canarem lake in Tarlac.
The Candaba swamp is among the three most popular wetlands in the country because it serves as an essential wintering area of migratory birds, based on the record of the Asian Birds Map. The swamp is famous among bird enthusiasts and attract thousands of tourists during the migratory period.
