Two more wetlands in Mindanao have made it to the Ramsar Convention list, bringing to 10 the total number of Philippine wetlands in the roster considered to be of global importance.
The new additions were the Sibugay Wetland Nature Reserve (SWNR) in Zamboanga Sibugay and the Del Carmen Mangrove Reserve (DCMR) in Siargao Island Protected Landscape and Seascape (SIPLAS) as the 9th and 10th “Ramsar Sites” of the Philippines, respectively.
The announcement came after the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands officially included SWNR and DCMR-SIPLAS on the List of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar List). The Convention serves as an intergovernmental treaty providing a framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
The convention also calls for the designation of suitable wetland for inclusion in the list, to highlight their significance not only to the host country, but to the global community as well.
SWNR, which has been tagged as Ramsar Site No. 2252, is a wetland complex surrounded by nine (9) municipalities in Zamboanga Sibugay that hosts thousands of migratory birds during migration season from September to March. Five (5) waterbird species namely: the endangered Far eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis), Great white egret (Egretta alba), Little egret (E. garzetta), Intermediate egret (E. intermedia) and Gull-billed tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) have exceeded the one-share of the East-Asian-Australasian Flyway population which qualifies the global contribution of the wetland to the conservation of waterbirds.
SWNR is also home to what is believed to be the largest colony of flying foxes in the country. This Sibugay colony is composed of the Philippine endemic and endangered Golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus), the Large flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus), and Island flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus).
