Location: Agusan del Sur Map
Area: 345.71 sq mi
The Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Agusan River
Valley, in the east of Mindanao Island in the Philippines. It was
established on October 31, 1996 with the entry into force of
Presidential Proclamation 913 in the territory of the province of
Agusan del Sur. It is considered the initial component of the
Philippines' National Integrated Protected Areas System. The Agusan
Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary has been one of six protected areas in the
Philippines designated as Ramsar sites since 1999. Since 2006, the
nature reserve has been on the Philippines' list of proposals for
inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The nearest
cities are Bayugan City and Butuan City. The Agusan marshland forms
one of the largest contiguous inland deltas in the Philippines, made
possible by its location in the middle Agusan Basin. It extends from
Lake Lumao near Talacogon in the north to the town of Veruela in the
south.
It is divided into a core area of 14,836 hectares and
a buffer zone of 4,360 hectares. The entire area is covered by small
lakes. It is fed by the Agusan River, which crosses the area coming
from the hills of eastern Mindanao.
The area of the Agusan
Marshland belongs to climate type IV without distinct rainy and dry
seasons; precipitation falls evenly throughout the year. The annual
rainfall is 3,600 mm, with an evaporation rate of 1,341 mm. The
Agusan Marsh lies south of the Pacific typhoon zone. In addition to
the Agusan, eight other rivers flow into the area of the marsh: the
Adgaoan, the Umayan, the Biga, the Baolo, the AoAo, the Simulao, the
Sulibao and the Gibong.
The Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary
is divided into mangrove forests (49%), bushland (14%), alluvial low
vegetation (7%), rice fields (6%) and small villages (6%), the
resident population is indigenous and owned to the Manobo and
Higaonon peoples.
The marshland is an important habitat for
waterfowl, wild ducks, herons and great egrets. Occurrences of the
rare Indian darter (Anhinga melanogaster), the purple grouse
(Porphyrio porphyrio) and the Philippine eagle, the spotted
fruit-dove (Ducula carola) and the red-backed fisherman (Ceyx
rufidorsa) have also been observed in the area. A total of 102 bird
species were counted in the protected area.
Furthermore, the
Agusan Wildlife Sanctuary is a refuge for the reticulated python
(Python reticulatus) and the Philippine cobra (Naja philippinensis).
The two crocodile species found in the Philippines, the saltwater
crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) and the Philippine crocodile
(Crocodylus mindorensis), also live in the protected area. The
marshland has a significant number of reptiles, such as the banded
monitor lizard (Varanus salvator) and the kites Draco ornatus and
Draco bimaculatus.
Nine amphibian species Pelphryne lighti,
Kalophrynus pleurostigma, Kaloula conjunta, Occidozyga laevis,
Platymantis guentheri, Platymantis dorsalis, Rana grandocula, Rana
everetti and Sturois natator have been recorded in the Agusan
Wildlife Sanctuary.
Counts of 65 butterflies and 16 fish
species were found in the protected area, including native carp fish
and invasive species such as the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis
niloticus), the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), the spotted gourami
(Trichogaster trichopterus), the pleco Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus
and the frog catfish (Clarias batrachus).