Buguey Wetlands, Cagayan Province

Buguey Wetlands are on the north coast of Luzon, south shore of the Babuyan Channel and east of the mouth of the Cagayan River, and covers about 80% of Buguey Municipality. Buguey Wetlands are a complex of coastal lagoons, freshwater marshes, brackish and saline marshes, mangrove swamps and intertidal mudflats, with some fish ponds and shrimp ponds and a very large area of rice paddies.

Buguey Wetland's climatic condition is humid tropical climate with an average annual rainfall of about 2,200 mm more or less evenly distributed throughout the year.

Location: 18°l7'N, 12l°50'E; on the north coast of Luzon, in the municipality of Buguey, Cagayan Province.

Buguey, Cagayan via Google Earth
Source: Google.com

Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, principally water purification, flood control, and shoreline stability. Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life.

Wetlands are habitats that fall somewhere on the environmental spectrum between land and water. Since wetlands lie at the interface of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, they possess a unique mixture of species, conditions, and interactions. As a result, wetlands are among our planet's most diverse and varied habitats pf different species.

In the Philippines there are a lot of considered wetlands, one of which is the Buguey Wetlands.

Some photos at Buguey, Cagayan | Coconut Trees
Source: Google Images

Some photos at Buguey, Cagayan | Mangroves
Source: Google Images

Some photos at Buguey, Cagayan | Ipomoea reptans.
Source: Google Images

Some photos at Buguey, Cagayan | Birds
Source: Google Images

Some photos at Buguey, Cagayan | Birds
Source: Google Images

The lands in the area are mostly used for Aquaculture and rice cultivation in parts of the wetland, and illegal hunting throughout. Also in these wetlands of Buguey there are some disturbances and threats of which the destruction of mangroves for the creation of shrimp and fish ponds has greatly reduced the extent of the mangroves, and this destruction continues. Waterfowl hunting, although illegal, is widespread, and there is extensive use of pesticides by the rice farmers. Ducks and egrets frequently feed in the rice paddies, and there have been incidents of birds dying from poisoning.

There have been reports that in Buguey Wetlands, there had been an important staging and wintering area for migratory waterfowl, notably ducks and shorebirds. About 3,000-5,000 ducks have been recorded in November, and they are mostly Dendrocygna sp and Anas luzonica. About up to 3,000 other waterfowl have been also observed, the commoner species including Ixobrychus sinensis, I. eurhythmus, I. cinnamomeus, Bubulcus ibis, Egretta garzetta. E. intermedia, E. alba, Gallicrex cinerea and Sterna albifrons were observed and recorded. There were over 940 shorebirds recorded in April-May of 1986 including the others:

32 Rostrazula benghalensis
138 Pluvialis dominica
276 Charadrius dubius
65 C. mongolus
112 Numenius phaeopus
70 Xenus cinereus
57 Heteroscelus brevipes
10 Limnodromus semipalmatus

Area: c.14,400 ha (approximately 80% of Buguey Municipality consists of wetlands).
Altitude: Sea level.
Bio-geographical Province: 4.26.12
Site Description: A complex of coastal lagoons, freshwater marshes, brackish and saline marshes, mangrove swamps and intertidal mudfiats, with some fish ponds and shrimp ponds and a very large area of rice paddies; on the south shore of the Babuyan Channel, east of the mouth of the Cagayan River.
Climatic Conditions: Humid tropical climate with an average annual rainfall of about 2,200 mm more or less evenly distributed throughout the year (Type IV).
Principal Vegetation: The aquatic vegetation includes Nypa fruticans, mangrove species and Ipomoea reptans. Plant communities in adjacent areas include Pandanus sp and plantations of coconuts.
Land use: Aquaculture and rice cultivation in parts of the wetland, and illegal hunting throughout.
Disturbances and Threats: The destruction of mangroves for the creation of shrimp and fish ponds has greatly reduced the extent of the mangroves, and this destruction continues. Waterfowl hunting, although illegal, is widespread, and there is extensive use of pesticides by the rice farmers. Ducks and egrets frequently feed in the rice paddies, and there have been incidents of birds dying from poisoning.

Sources:
http://www.arcbc.org.ph/wetlands/philippines/phl_bug.html
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=9712
http://bes428bugueywetlands.blogspot.com/2013/08/buguey-wetlands.html