PHL declares Siargao town's mangrove forest 'wetland of international importance'

In a bid to get global recognition The Philippines recognized the mangrove forest of Del Carmen in the island of Siargao as a “wetland of international importance” on February 2023.

Philstar.com / Martin Ramos

DEL CARMEN, Surigao del Norte — The Philippines recognized Thursday the mangrove forest of Del Carmen in the island of Siargao as a “wetland of international importance” in a bid to get global recognition under a 52-year-old treaty on the conservation and use of these areas.

Environment officials expect Manila’s recognition of Del Carmen’s mangrove forest on World Wetlands Day to be a “precursor” to its formal listing as the country’s ninth wetland of international importance under the 1971 Ramsar Convention.

“We’re going to put Siargao Island into the global map of wetland conservation,” said Anson Tagtag, officer-in-charge of the Biodiversity Management Bureau’s Caves, Wetlands and Other Ecosystems Division.

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/climate-and-environment/2023/02/02/2242041/phl-declares-siargao-towns-mangrove-forest-wetland-international-importance