Society for the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands, Inc

About

Name of organisation

Society for the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands, Inc

Funding support

International Non-Government Organizations grants/call for
proposal; Government; Individual; Private companies; some
UN agencies, ie UNDP, WFP

Number of staff

5 office staff; project staff on-site are hired on demand
depending on projects

Number of visitors per year

Las Piñas – Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPCHEA): 22,158

Laguna de Bay: no physical wetland center but CEPA activities are implemented in more than 100 high schools in 20 municipalities.

Candaba Wetlands: our site at Paligui Wetlands is still being developed; we had a dry-run of the eco-tour last 02 February
2019 with 35 media practitioners visiting the site. Launching of the eco-tour is scheduled in October 2019.

Overall aims of the centre

The SCPW is a national-level NGO that operates in various areas in the country either by itself or with local partner organizations. Its mandate is primarily to conduct CEPA activities so that people will take action for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.

Description of the centre

The SCPW operates primarily in three major areas in the Philippines:
1) Las Piñas – Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPCHEA) Metro Manila (175 hectares)
2) Laguna de Bay – Laguna and Rizal provinces (90,000 square kilometers)
3) Candaba Wetlands – Candaba, Pampanga (total 30,000 hectares; SCPW works with Macagatal Irrigators Association in a 135-hectare agricultural
wetland)

Types of habitats and species supported:
1) Las Piñas – Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPCHEA) –LPPCHEA covers around a 175 hectares of wetlands ecosystem, consisting of mangroves, ponds, lagoons, mudflats, salt marshes, and mixed beach forest.
LPPCHEA is declared as a critical habitat in the country and recognized as wetland of international importance by the Ramsar Convention. It was designated as a Protected Area in 2018 under the
Expanded NIPAS Law. LPPCHEA is also part of the East Asian–Australasian Migratory Flyway (EAAF).
There are around 82 wild bird species found in LPPCHEA, 41 of which are migratory coming from as far as China, Japan and Siberia. Endemic species can be found also in the site, including the Philippine Bulbul, Colasisi, and the Philippine Duck which is listed as a vulnerable species by the International
Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).

2) Laguna de Bay is the largest inland wetland in the country with a surface are of about 90,000 square kilometers. Approximately 100 rivers and streams
drain into the lake, of which 22 are significant river systems. There is only one outlet, Pasig River through the Napindan Channel that drains lake waters to Manila Bay. It cradles a region encompassing 6 provinces, 15 cities, 46 municipalities and 2,661 barangays, 188 of which are within lakeshore. The biological resources which can be found in the lake are fish, mollusks, plankton, and macrophytes.

3) Candaba Wetlands are vast complex of freshwater ponds, swamps and marshes with surrounding areas of seasonally flooded grassland, arable land and
palm savanna on a vast alluvial flood plain. It is an important area for agricultural and fisheries production, water for irrigation, and natural flood retention. Considered as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA #31), this is an extremely important staging and wintering area for migratory birds. This is also part
of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, serving as feeding and roosting grounds for more than 21,000 birds belonging to 80 species.

Featured programs:
1) LPPCHEA – Nature Walk, Bird Watching, Coastal Clean-up

2) Laguna de Bay – Youth Ecological Camps, Youth Congress, Wetlands Bioblitz Project, Wetland Center Design Competition

3) Candaba Wetlands – Bird Watching, Eco-tourism packages, Wetland Center Design Competition, wetlands rehabilitation; innovative reforestation project in the uplands to minimize siltation in wetlands (The Tree-preneur Project).