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Friday, March 29, 2024

21k migratory birds roost in Pampanga

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CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga—A total of 21,565 long-distance migratory water birds have landed in the three sanctuaries in Pampanga, the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office reported Sunday.

The Asian Waterbirds Census conducted by PENRO Pampanga showed that 15,068 waterbirds composed of 22 species arrived in the two sanctuaries of Sasmuan, while 6,467 waterbirds with 37 species roosted in the 50-hectare Candaba swamp from August to December this year.

Engineer Rommel M. Santiago, chief of the Technical Service Division of PENRO Pampanga, said the annual census was conducted in cooperation with the local and barangay units, experts, birds’ enthusiasts and the Wild Birds Club of the Philippines.

During a media forum here, Santiago said the census was conducted with the use of technology that s effective even from a distance and uses high definition cameras.

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“Migratory birds were sighted, identified, noted, captured using writing materials, high definition camera, binoculars, and spotting scope,” Santiago said.

He also said based on the result of the census conducted in the towns of Sasmuan and Cadaba, an increasing number of waterbirds were observed and counted compared to last year’s 18,456 migrants.

However, Santiago cautioned that climate change, which causes drying of fishponds and wetlands, and the conversion of wetlands into agriculture zones may affect the birds’ migration in the coming years.

Migration is the seasonal movement of birds between geographical locations, where they fly north to new breeding areas or fly south to warmer countries where there is food and is safe to rest or roost.

The 21,535 waterbirds census for 2017 are part of the estimated 10,000 species that are long-distance migrants.

The Clark Development Authority has prohibited the hunting and selling of all kinds of migratory birds, especially those rare and endangered inside the Freeport effective January 2018.

Rogelio M. Magat, manager of environmental permit division of the CDC, said the prohibition was the result of complaints from the public, specially bird watchers and enthusiasts.

Penalties for violators include heavy fines depending on kind of birds poached and imprisonment of at least three to six years.

Juanita R. Santos Ancheta, an advocate of environmental protection and ecological balance, told Magat during the forum that hunting and selling of rare and exotic birds inside Clark was rampant, and perpetrated by well-known personalities and indigenous persons living inside the former US military installation.

Ancheta said 11 rare birds are part of about 50 species from Siberia that migrated last August looking for new habitat, vegetation and new sanctuary in the Freeport.

Ancheta identified some of the rare birds from Europe, Asia and North America as the Siberian wagtail, Chinese white wagtail, common Kestell, Chinese Goshaw, wild red jungfowls, brown shrike, brown breasted kingfisher, common kingfisher, gray wagtail and Arctic babbler.

According to the bird lover, these rare birds should be protected against hunters and indigenous people so their annual migration movement in the country will enhance the tourism industry of Clark and nearby tourist spots in the province.

Ancheta also said that Batang 2nd in Sasmuan, another bird sanctuary in Pampanga, was converted into a hunting ground “by an actor turned politician from the Visayas” — whom she did not name — and other hunters in the nearby provinces almost every month.

However, Santiago assured Ancheta this will no longer happen because the Department of Environment and Natural Resources declared the Sasmuan bird sanctuaries as critical habitats, meaning starting next year their office will set the rules and regulations to protecting birds against hunters.

Magat said that birds from Europe and Asia including North America are coming to Freeport because of its vegetation and clean air prevailing in the areas as locators and investors are complying with clear air regulation imposed by CDC.

“The quality of air is very clean inside the Freeport,” Magat said.

He also said out of the 950 investors and locators operating inside 95 percent are complying with regulations and only 5 percent are considered violators.

Violators specially in the cutting of trees are fined P100,000 apiece. At least five investors were already fined.

With regards to the toxin waste left by the American, he said that four building covering about 1,500 square meters are now open for lease for interested investors and locators. The cleared building with toxic waste materials were the Philippines Exchange Area (PX) Firemen Training Area (used during training of aircraft with toxic waste), Wagner Aviation Facilities, and Civil Engineering Office of the former US Air Force base.

 Magat added that a grant from the World Bank worth P21 million help to finance the removal of the toxic waste materials of those four buildings.

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