Sasmuan Pampanga Coastal Wetland
Did You Know?
The 3,667-hectare Sasmuan Pampanga Coastal Wetland (SPCW) is the 8th Ramsar site in the Philippines and the first in Central Luzon and in Pampanga.
The Sasmuan Pampanga Coastal Wetland (SPCW) is now officially declared as Ramsar Site No. 2445!
Sasmuan Pampanga Coastal Wetlands is the 8th Philippine RAMSAR Site.
The Philippines has just inaugurated the Sasmuan Pampanga Coastal Wetland (SPCW) as its 8th Wetland of International importance, or Ramsar site, today, February, 2, 021, on the occasion of World Wetlands Day 2021, and the 50th Anniversary of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. It was officially declared Ramsar site No. 2445.
The SPCW is a wetland complex of coastal waters interconnected with mangroves, mudflats, and a river ecosystem that offer a range of ecosystem services at the local and regional levels. The Site fulfills four (4) Ramsar criteria, confirming the international significance of its biodiversity and its services both at the species and ecosystems level.
Its designation as the Philippines’ latest Ramsar Site is a collaborative effort between the DENR-Biodiversity Management Bureau, DENR Central Luzon Regional Office, PENRO Pampanga, and the Local Government Units of the Municipality of Sasmuan and the Province of Pampanga.
A mangrove islet named the Sasmuan Bangkung Malapad Critical Habitat Ecotourism Area lies at the “Heart of SPCW” which serves as a home to a variety of species of mangroves including the vulnerable ????????? ?????????, according to a 2017 flora assessment conducted by PENRO Pampanga. Marine animals including a diverse number of fish and crustaceans also thrive in the area.
The other Wetlands of International Importance in the Philippines include the
- Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Lapu-Lapu, Cebu (Ramsar Site No. 656);
- Naujan Lake National Park in Oriental Mindoro (Ramsar Site No. 1008);
- Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Agusan del Sur (Ramsar Site No. 1009);
- Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in Cagayancillo, Palawan (Ramsar Site No. 1010);
- Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Puerto Princesa City (Ramsar Site No. 2084);
- Las Pinas-Paranaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (Ramsar Site No. 2124) and
- the Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area (Ramsar Site No. 2271).
You may want to read: