Balanga wetland preservation sought

BALANGA CITY, Bataan — The provincial government here is pushing intensified efforts to preserve the Balanga City Wetland and Nature Park as part of the Ibong Day Festival celebrations.

“This aims to empower and increase the capacities of media practitioners to effectively communicate the immense value of wetland ecosystems through an experiential media and workshop,” said Vice Governor Ma. Cristina Garcia.

She added that they are looking to promote the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats.

The vice governor conducted a tour which includes a knowledge-building session on wetlands, a field trip to the Balanga Wetland Habitat and site visits along Manila Bay’s north coast.

Meanwhile, Wetlands International Philippines project manager Jocel Pangilinan warned that there is degradation in many of the country’s wetlands. The official led the briefing regarding the To Plant or Not to Plant project at the Bunker, adding that an example of degradation is the planting of bakawan or mangroves in clay without proper mapping in changing mangroves.

Pangilinan said that some of the kinds of wetlands include mangroves, clay, swamps, rivers and lakes, deltas, floodplains and flood forests, and rice fields. The official cited that with the wrong actions, ecosystems might change, prompting migratory birds to look for another site. Another example is the total destruction of seagrass areas that were hit by mangroves, adding that the mangroves that were planted in the said area would not proliferate since the area is not their natural habitat.