THE Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area (Nocwca) has been declared as an East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) site three months after its declaration as the country’s seventh Ramsar site.
Al Orolfo, regional director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Negros Island Region (DENR-NIR), said the confirmation was made by the Biodiversity Management Bureau on Thursday, January 19.
Orolfo said the global recognition established by science shows that indeed the “green island-region” is being visited by birds of East Australian species.
“Being an established flyway, we are now more committed that this area shall be conserved, protected and widely used by the communities,” he said, adding that “it is another output achieved through common efforts of all stakeholders.”
From a community initiative, Nocwca is now an internationally-recognized local conservation area which the national government fully supports, Orolfo further said.
The flyway passes through 22 countries with about 55 migratory species or more than five million birds, the DENR-NIR said.
The coastal wetlands conservation area, recognized by the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, stretches along 109.52 kilometers covering 10 local government units (LGUs) from Bago City to Ilog.
Nocwca caters to migrating shorebirds that breed from northern Asia and Alaska, and spend the non-breeding season in Southeast Asia and Australasia, the agency said.
Among the criteria for the said recognition are the presence of migratory birds, established birding activities, and support from the community and stakeholders.
DENR noted at least 73 species of water birds, including five globally threatened species and two near globally threatened species, found in the said wetlands.
r“We are now in the books of bird enthusiasts thus, the site becomes a new ecotourism attraction in the region,” Orolfo said, adding that “NIR is indeed one of the biodiversity hotspots in the country in terms of birds.”
Moreover, DENR-NIR is set to unveil the Ramsar site marker in Kabankalan City on February 2, during the Word Wetlands Day celebration.
Activities will also be staged at Barangay Tibsoc in San Enrique which also forms part of Nocwca.
In Negros Oriental, there will be a launching of stand-up paddle activity as a new ecotourism activity at Valencia’s Twin Lakes.
