Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park
Published Oct 21, 2022 12:05 am
GUEST COLUMNIST
SENIOR BYAHERO
Albert Einstein once said “Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born.”
As a person who grew up near the southern part of Manila Bay, I have always been curious about the development surrounding the bay area. When we were young, we used to visit the beaches in Zapote and Las Piñas for a family picnic, especially during Pista ni San Juan when everybody trooped to the beach to enjoy the clear water of Manila Bay. When I was studying in Manila, I saw the south part of the bay from Parañaque to Bacoor being reclaimed for the construction of the Manila Cavite Coastal Road. I also saw the opening of the Coastal Road in 1985 and its full conversion to a tollway in 1995.
When the Coastal Road was opened in 1985, two mysterious islands appeared off the coast of Las Piñas and Parañaque. According to stories, the excess reclamation soil and the tons of garbage from Manila Bay as well as those coming from its tributaries created the artificial islands. They were originally barren, and in fact attracted informal settlers who freely lived in the islands, thus the name Freedom Island, but eventually, vegetation grew and mangroves were planted to prevent the islands from erosion. The islands also attracted wildlife, mostly birds, both indigenous and migratory, that would lead to the islands being a declared protected habitat. Informal settlers were later on asked to leave, and the islands are now under the care of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
On April 22, 2007, the two interconnected islands were formally declared as a Critical Habitat by the Philippine government through Presidential Proclamation No. 1412. It became officially called Las Piñas-Parañaque Habitat and Ecotourism Area or LPPCHEA. LPPCHEA covered 175 hectares composed of Long Island in Las Piñas and Freedom Island in Parañaque. It was included as a Ramsar wetland of international importance on March 15, 2013.
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. The Philippines has eight sites on the Ramsar list, including Tubbataha, Olango and Agusan Marsh, and only LPPCHEA is located in the bustling capital Manila. LPPCHEA is now called Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPWP) after the Ramsar inclusion.
Not many people using Cavitex daily know that there’s an ecotorism area right beside the tollway. I often see the mangrove forest and the migratory birds from the distance whenever I drive along Cavitex and have often wondered what’s inside the mangrove forest.
An opportunity to visit LPPWP came recently with the birdwatching activity organized by the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines. In celebration of the World Migratory Bird Day, the club came up with an activity to identify migratory birds as well as endemic birds in the park. I signed up immediately.
The entrance to LPPWP is located right before the toll gate going south. From the entrance, there’s a narrow road leading to the visitor center where the Wetland Center Complex is located. The complex houses the LPPWP office, open space auditorium and museum. Located near the complex is the Bambusetum, a collection of Philippine bamboo varieties to Buhong Dilaw to Kawayang Tinik. In the middle of Bambusetum is a sculpture called “Intertwined” highlighting the inseparable link between man and nature.
We were met by the members of Wild Bird Club who explained to us that from October to February, migratory birds like Little Egret, Black-Crowned Night Heron and Common Moorhen coming from Siberia, China and Japan come to the park to escape the cold weather. We were also given binoculars and sheet of paper containing the list of birds which we can see during the birdwatching activity.
From the center complex, we took the trail leading to Freedom Island, the center of birdwatching activity in the park. Along the way, we saw the many varieties of endemic trees planted along the trail. They include agoho, alagaw, nilad (where the name of Manila came from) and kamuning, which I saw for the first time. I also noticed that no non-native trees like mahogany and gemilina are planted on the park.
We spent more than two hours looking for birds. We saw Black-winged Stilts, Common Sandpipers, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Whiskered Terns, Black-crown Night Herons and hundreds of Little Egrets, and many more. They were everywhere, on trees, on ponds, on the mangrove forest and on rocks. The guides also taught us not only to look for birds, but to listen to them. We learned that each bird species makes its own unique sound.
The birdwatching activity which we joined transported us to a place in the metropolis which we never knew existed. Walking on the board walk in the middle of the mangrove forest with little egrets flying around, it’s hard to believe that I was only a few meters from a busy expressway. I then realized that the reason why the mysterious islands were created out of garbage and refuse from reclamation was to provide habitat for weary birds and escape for tired urban souls.
(The author is a senior who recently retired. His taste for adventure has not kept him from travelling, usually via not-so-usual routes.)
Albert Einstein once said “Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born.”
As a person who grew up near the southern part of Manila Bay, I have always been curious about the development surrounding the bay area. When we were young, we used to visit the beaches in Zapote and Las Piñas for a family picnic, especially during Pista ni San Juan when everybody trooped to the beach to enjoy the clear water of Manila Bay. When I was studying in Manila, I saw the south part of the bay from Parañaque to Bacoor being reclaimed for the construction of the Manila Cavite Coastal Road. I also saw the opening of the Coastal Road in 1985 and its full conversion to a tollway in 1995.
When the Coastal Road was opened in 1985, two mysterious islands appeared off the coast of Las Piñas and Parañaque. According to stories, the excess reclamation soil and the tons of garbage from Manila Bay as well as those coming from its tributaries created the artificial islands. They were originally barren, and in fact attracted informal settlers who freely lived in the islands, thus the name Freedom Island, but eventually, vegetation grew and mangroves were planted to prevent the islands from erosion. The islands also attracted wildlife, mostly birds, both indigenous and migratory, that would lead to the islands being a declared protected habitat. Informal settlers were later on asked to leave, and the islands are now under the care of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
On April 22, 2007, the two interconnected islands were formally declared as a Critical Habitat by the Philippine government through Presidential Proclamation No. 1412. It became officially called Las Piñas-Parañaque Habitat and Ecotourism Area or LPPCHEA. LPPCHEA covered 175 hectares composed of Long Island in Las Piñas and Freedom Island in Parañaque. It was included as a Ramsar wetland of international importance on March 15, 2013.
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. The Philippines has eight sites on the Ramsar list, including Tubbataha, Olango and Agusan Marsh, and only LPPCHEA is located in the bustling capital Manila. LPPCHEA is now called Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPWP) after the Ramsar inclusion.
Not many people using Cavitex daily know that there’s an ecotorism area right beside the tollway. I often see the mangrove forest and the migratory birds from the distance whenever I drive along Cavitex and have often wondered what’s inside the mangrove forest.
An opportunity to visit LPPWP came recently with the birdwatching activity organized by the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines. In celebration of the World Migratory Bird Day, the club came up with an activity to identify migratory birds as well as endemic birds in the park. I signed up immediately.
The entrance to LPPWP is located right before the toll gate going south. From the entrance, there’s a narrow road leading to the visitor center where the Wetland Center Complex is located. The complex houses the LPPWP office, open space auditorium and museum. Located near the complex is the Bambusetum, a collection of Philippine bamboo varieties to Buhong Dilaw to Kawayang Tinik. In the middle of Bambusetum is a sculpture called “Intertwined” highlighting the inseparable link between man and nature.
We were met by the members of Wild Bird Club who explained to us that from October to February, migratory birds like Little Egret, Black-Crowned Night Heron and Common Moorhen coming from Siberia, China and Japan come to the park to escape the cold weather. We were also given binoculars and sheet of paper containing the list of birds which we can see during the birdwatching activity.
From the center complex, we took the trail leading to Freedom Island, the center of birdwatching activity in the park. Along the way, we saw the many varieties of endemic trees planted along the trail. They include agoho, alagaw, nilad (where the name of Manila came from) and kamuning, which I saw for the first time. I also noticed that no non-native trees like mahogany and gemilina are planted on the park.
We spent more than two hours looking for birds. We saw Black-winged Stilts, Common Sandpipers, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Whiskered Terns, Black-crown Night Herons and hundreds of Little Egrets, and many more. They were everywhere, on trees, on ponds, on the mangrove forest and on rocks. The guides also taught us not only to look for birds, but to listen to them. We learned that each bird species makes its own unique sound.
The birdwatching activity which we joined transported us to a place in the metropolis which we never knew existed. Walking on the board walk in the middle of the mangrove forest with little egrets flying around, it’s hard to believe that I was only a few meters from a busy expressway. I then realized that the reason why the mysterious islands were created out of garbage and refuse from reclamation was to provide habitat for weary birds and escape for tired urban souls.
(The author is a senior who recently retired. His taste for adventure has not kept him from travelling, usually via not-so-usual routes.)