Groups tackle threats to Agusan Sur marshland

By ERWIN MASCARIÑAS
Correspondent

BUTUAN City – Officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), representatives of non-government organizations and academics gathered here last week in time for the anniversary of the declaration of the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, and discussed how to better protect the rich biodiversity of the wetland.

Felix Alicer, regional director of the DENR in Caraga, said the marshland is one of the most ecologically significant wetland ecosystems in the country as it comprises a vast complex of freshwater marshes and watercourses, including 59 lakes that collectively act as a catch basin for floodwaters.

“The Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, since it’s declaration as a Ramsar site, is degrading, with a deteriorating status, despite the efforts of the DENR and non-government organizations in managing the natural park. Trans-boundary threats from socio-economic activities, in the upper Agusan River basin, are producing sedimentation and other pollutants that degrade the water quality in the marsh,” said Alicer.     

Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary located in Agusan del Sur covers 38 barangays in the towns of San Francisco, Rosario, Bunawan, Loreto, La Paz, and Talacogon. It originally covers a land area of 19,196.59 hectares based on the Presidential Proclamation 913 in October 1996.

On June 22, 2018, under the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018, the protected area was expanded to 40,940.96.

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat, is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971. The Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary has been declared as Ramsar Site 1009.

Alicer said the expansion of agriculture, bad leasing practices, and the exploitation of threatened wildlife species around and within the park were identified as socio-economic drivers that degrade the water quality and threatened the good population of resources and biodiversity.

“It is that necessary to address the environmental threats by expanding the information, education, and communication to mainstream and the conservation and wise use of wetlands,” he said. 

Alicer said 2019 is the 20th year since the designation of Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary as a Ramsar Site, and it would be a good opportunity to celebrate the achievements over the past years and to address the degradation status of the marshland.

He proposed to organize a national conference with the objective of increasing the knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the connectivity of the wildlife sanctuary of the upper and lower Agusan River basin while highlighting the ecosystem pushing for commitment for conservation and wise use   

Alicer said it is important that the stakeholders in the upper river and lower river basin participate in reducing the threats and contribute to improving the marshland.    

Agusan Marsh serves like a giant sponge where excess water is impounded at times of high flow and ensures adequate water flow during dry periods that are in turn used for domestic and agricultural uses, storing more than 15 percent of the freshwater resources in the country based on a 1992 survey.