GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / November 25) – Three wetlands in Mindanao have been recognized for their vital roles as a migratory path for waterbirds, which traverses 37 countries across the globe.
The East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) recently recognized the seven new Flyway Network Sites (FNS) or wetlands with critical conservation importance, which included the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Lake Mainit, and Sibugay Wetland Nature Reserve.
Agusan Marsh and Lake Mainit are both located in the Caraga region, while the Sibugay Wetland is in Zamboanga Peninsula.
The other new FNS wetlands are Bang Pu Nature Education Center (Thailand), Paleik Lake and Pyu Lake (Myanmar), and Yeoncheon Imjin River (Republic of Korea).
Agusan Marsh and Bang Pu Nature Education Center are also both part of the ASEAN Flyway Network and the ASEAN Heritage Parks Network.
The seven additional FNS were named during EAAFP’s 12th Meeting of Partners (MOP12) from November 10 to 14 in Cebu province. The conference gathered around 300 delegates from 20 countries, including government officials, scientists, conservation organizations, youth groups, and development partners.
In a statement, EAAFP chair Narelle Montgomery stressed the need for a shared responsibility of conserving migratory birds and their habitats along one of the world’s most important flyways.
The East Asian-Australasian Flyway is the most densely populated flyway in the world, with 600 bird species traversing across 37 countries from Alaska to Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the non-profit BirdLife International said.
On its Facebook page, the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary (AMWS) Protected Area Management Office lauded the FNS designation as “a win for nature, people and the Earth.”
”This milestone celebrates AMWS as a vital refuge for thousands of migratory birds along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway,” it said.
The Philippines now has a total of seven wetland areas in the flyway network. The other flyway network sites are the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Naujan Lake National Park, Tubbataha Reefs National Park, and Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area.
The ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB) hailed the declaration of the new Flyway Network Sites in Asia.
During the MOP12 conference, ACB, an intergovernmental organization that facilitates cooperation and coordination in ASEAN member-states on conservation of biological diversity, was recognized by the EAAFP as an intergovernmental partner and part of the management committee, which is chaired by Cambodia.
Jerome Cayton Barradas, ACB director for public engagement, said the recognition puts the organizationin a strategic position to advance the protection and conservation of the ASEAN flyway, which is part of the larger East Asian-Australasian Flyway migration route.
The East Asian-Australasian Flyway is one of nine major migratory waterbird flyways around the globe and is home to over 50 million migratory waterbirds – including shorebirds, Anatidae (ducks, geese and swans), cranes, and seabirds (i.e. divers, cormorants, gulls, shearwaters, and auks) – from over 250 different populations. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
