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An aerial view of the marsh |
By
Rexcel Sorza, IOL Correspondent
MANILA,
May 3, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Muslims in the southern Philippines
island of Mindanao have unveiled a program aimed at protecting the
unexploited portion of the Philippines' largest marsh and swamp area,
Ligawasan Marsh, and another parallel program to reforest its
exploited sections.
"Bantay
Ligawasan is a community approach to safeguard and protect the natural
resources of the marsh from human destruction," Prof. Abhoud Syed
Lingga, executive director of the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies
(IBS), told IslamOnline.net on Wednesday, May 3.
"Ligawasan
Marsh Reforestation Program," on the other hand, "aims to
encourage communities to reforest the marsh through individual and
communal efforts," he added.
Lingga
said the marsh is currently considered ecologically threatened due to
humans' misuse.
The
two programs were to protect and rehabilitate the marshland that cuts
across the provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato,
which are home to thousands of Muslims.
The
IBS and the Ligawasan Marsh Research and Development Council (LMRDC)
initiated the projects after consulting and enjoining the residents of
Ligawasan, which covers around 288,000 hectares.
The
Moro Islamic Liberation Front is supporting the projects which involve
its stronghold areas through the Bangsamoro Development agency.
The
mineral-rich southern region of Mindanao is home to about 5 million
Muslims.
Welcomed
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Fishing is one of the two primary means of livelihood for people of the area. |
Dr.
Jurgenne Primavera, an internationally known mangroves expert,
welcomed the project.
"This
is a good news because I can see that the area badly needs such
programs," she told IOL.
"If
you ask me to compare Liguasan 20 years ago and now, I can say it is
in bad shape today," added the expert.
He
stressed that the people living in the area "should really
understand that they have to do something to protect and rehabilitate
the area."
Primavera
cautioned that the grassroots people should not be left on their own.
"They
should have support systems from all sectors. And also, the government
should be serious in dealing with loggers and others who might be
putting the environment in danger with their businesses."
Residents
were also very welcoming of the initiative.
"We
are so happy that some people are there to help us out," Indang
Aguana told IOL.
"We
want to spare the resources in the marsh because we know we will be
the first to suffer the consequences of the overexploitation of
Ligawasan."
He
hoped the programs will help them achieve that while at the same time
providing for their children.
Aquatic
Life
The
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has classified Ligawasan
Marsh as a "natural biotic area."
The
marshland is home to aquatic life and inhabited by both large and
microscopic plant and animal forms.
It
is home to important endemic varieties of flora and fauna as well.
Ligawasan
Marsh is also an important bird wetland site.
Besides
that, the marsh also acts as depository of water drained from the
Cotabato River Basin, which prevents the flooding of the low-lying
downstream areas and supports a great variety of aquatic wildlife,
including 20 species of fishes, three species of reptiles, and over 20
species of waterfowl, notably herons, egrets and ducks.
The
marsh is home to some 112,000 Maguindanaon families whose primary
means of livelihood are fishing when water levels are high and
agriculture when they are low.
Because
of its very rich wildlife, the marsh has considerable potential for
nature tourism.
