Raising people’s awareness on the value of wetlands

Every 2nd day of February is World Wetlands Day (WWD). It was designated by the Convention on Wetlands or more popularly known as the Ramsar Convention to mark the signing of the convention in the Iranian City of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. This year’s theme is "From the mountains to the sea – Wetland at work for us".

WWD was initially celebrated in 1997. Thereafter, government organizations, non-government organizations and groups of citizens celebrate it by undertaking information campaign on the values and benefits of wetlands. Also, from 1997 to 2003, the convention’s website has posted reports from more than 80 countries about WWD activities in the form of lectures, art contests, community clean-up days, radio and television interviews, letters to newspapers, etc.

In the Philippines, the highlight of this year’s WWD, which also coincides with our National Wetlands Day, is the awarding ceremonies for the Philippine Wetlands Convention Award. This is a pioneering activity of the DENR’s Protected Area and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) aimed at giving recognition to individuals, local organizations and LGUs who have contributed to the wise use of Philippine Wetlands.

The original 49 nominations received nationwide has been trimmed down to seven winners and two special citations. Dubbed wetland heroes, the winners are actively involved in the planning and implementation of programs/activities on either inland or coastal wetland in the areas of research and policy formulation among others.

Thus initiative was made possible through the partnership of San Miguel Corp. These companies are actively involved in various wetland conservation initiatives and will provide modest cash awards to the winners.

Wetlands have been described in about 50 different ways. However, the internationally accepted description is that of Ramsar’s Convention which says that they are "areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static, flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water, the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters."

Wetlands provide benefits that are essential to communities and industrial and agricultural operations and activities. Foremost among them is water supply from the streams, rivers, ponds, lakes and even peat swamp forests through shallow wells. They also prevent the infusion of saline water to land surface where it can affect water supply to ecological communities and to the people.

They also serve as storage of excess amounts of water coming from rain, run-off, rivers, or from underground sources, thus regulating the flow of floodwater.

On a global scale, wetlands are one of the richest repositories of biodiversity. They serve as water transport, source of hydro-electronic power, buffer on the effects of typhoons, venue of yearly flight of migratory birds, and places for recreation and education, among others.

At the national level, the country benefits from their wide array of amenities foremost of which is as a major source of food (fishes, mollusks, etc.) revenues from wetland products.

DEN-PAWB hopes that this year’s celebration of WWD and National Wetland Day will develop/ enhance people’s consciousness that the Philippines is blessed with extensive wetlands that need to be properly managed so that they will continue to perform their vital functions for the benefit of all Filipinos.