Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary

Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary
Location:	Philippines
Next city:	Bayugan City
Surface:	191.95 km²
Founding:	October 31, 1996
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The Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the valley of the Agusan River , 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 Agusan del Sur province . It is regarded as the initial component of the National Integrated Protected Areas System of the Philippines. The Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary has been one of the six conservation areas in the Philippines that have been designated as Ramsar areas since 1999 . Since 2006, the nature reserve is on the proposed list of the Philippines for inclusion on the World Heritage List of UNESCO .

The closest cities are Bayugan City and Butuan City . The Agusan marshland forms one of the largest continuous inland deltas in the Philippines , this is made possible by its location in the central Agusan Basin. It extends from Lumao Lake near Talacogon in the north to the village 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 comes from the hills of eastern Mindanao and crosses the area.

The area of the Agusan marshland belongs to climate type IV without pronounced rainy and dry seasons, the precipitation falls evenly over the year. The annual precipitation is given as 3,600 mm, with an evaporation rate of 1,341 mm. The Agusan Marsh is 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%), scrubland (14%), alluvial land with low vegetation (7%), rice fields (6%) and small villages (6%), the local population is indigenous and belonging to the peoples of the Manobo and the Higaonon .

The marshland is an important habitat for waterfowl , wild ducks , gray herons and great egrets . Occurrences of the rare Indian darter ( Anhinga melanogaster ), the purple grouse ( Porphyrio porphyrio ) and the Philippines eagle , the spotted fruit pigeon ( Ducula carola ) and the redback 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 retreat for the reticulated python ( Python reticulatus ) and the Philippine cobra ( Naja philippinensis ). The two species of crocodile found in the Philippines, the estuarine crocodile ( Crocodylus porosus ) and the Philippines crocodile ( Crocodylus mindorensis ) also live in the reserve . The marshland has a significant number of reptiles, such as the black tie monitor ( Varanus salvator ) and the kites Draco ornatus and Draco bimaculatus .

In the Agusan Wildlife Sanctuary , the nine amphibian species Pelphryne lighti , Kalophrynus pleurostigma , Kaloula conjunta , Occidozyga laevis , Platymantis guentheri , Platymantis dorsalis , Rana grandocula , Rana everetti and Sturois natator have been detected.

In reserve 65 butterfly and 16 species of fish, including native carp and invasive species such as were found in counts Niltilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) , the Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) , the Spotted gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus) , the catfish Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus and the walking catfish (Clarias batrachus) .