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.

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.

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.