Agusan del Sur

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Agusan del Sur province
Basic data
Region : Caraga
Capital : Prosperidad
Population : 700,653
August 1, 2015 census
Population density : 70 inhabitants per km²
Area : 9,989.52  km²
PSGC : 160300000
Governor : Adolph Edward Plaza
Official website: Official website
structure
 - Highly urbanized cities 0
 - provincial cities 0
 - municipalities 14th
 - Barangays 314
 - electoral districts 1
Location of province on Mindanao
map

Coordinates: 8 ° 27 '  N , 125 ° 47'  E Agusan del Sur is a province of the Philippines with no access to the sea and belongs to the Caraga region (Region XIII) on the island of Mindanao . The seat of the provincial government is Prosperidad .

geography

The province is surrounded by the provinces of Agusan del Norte , Surigao del Sur , Davao Oriental , Davao de Oro , Davao del Norte , Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental , starting clockwise from the north .

The largest river in the province is the Agusan River , which flows through Agusan del Sur from Davao de Oro from south to north. The river has twelve tributaries: the Wawa, Gibong, and the Simulao Rivers are eastern tributaries, while the Ojot, Pusilao, Kasilayan, Libang, Maasam, Adgawan, Cawayan, Umayam, and the Ihaon Rivers supply the Agusan River from the west. The tributaries are in turn fed by numerous streams and brooks.

In the southern half of the province, from the municipality of Veruela , lies the Agusan Marsh , an area full of swamps and lakes. The largest is Talacogon Lake. In addition to the broad river plain, the Diwata Mountains rise to the east . The western region of the province is characterized by high mountain ranges that rise to over 2,000 meters above sea level.

statistics

The municipalities of Loreto, La Paz, Esperanza and San Luis are the four largest municipalities in terms of their area and occupy 60% of the total area of ​​the province. Santa Josefa and Talacogon have the smallest area.

About 76%, a total of 6,827.5 km², of the entire province is declared as a forest area, while 24% or 2,137.5 km² are used for agricultural purposes. Over the years, the forest area has already been greatly reduced due to industrial use.

The province has a total area of ​​8,568 km².

The Agusan wetlands

The Agusan wetlands are one of the most ecologically significant wetlands in the Philippines. The marshland lies in the heart of Mindanao , in the Agusan Basin, in which the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary is located. The vast expanse of the swamp covers an area the size of Metro Manila. It contains almost 15% of the national fresh water reserves in the form of forested bog and swamp.

During the rainy season, when the higher water levels form large lakes, large numbers of ducks come to the Agusan Wetlands to nest. In the dry months, on the other hand, thousands of birds come from distant Japan , China and Russia to escape the cold winter winds of North Asia. Over 200 different species spend part of the year in this wetland. This makes this region one of the most important transit stations for wild birds in Asia.

In the center of the marshland there is a lake with an area of ​​several square kilometers, full of water lilies , hyacinths and other aquatic plants that together form a huge green carpet. Countless specimens of catfish , carp , freshwater turtles and crocodiles live in the dark-colored water .

A special type of naturally grown bonsai tree also grows in the Agusan marshland . The area can be reached via the Baranggay Caimpogan or from New Visayas in the municipality of San Francisco .

A small community of the Manobos ethnic group has found their home deep in the marshland. They live here on floating houses. The small buildings are made of bamboo and nipa palms , which are rigged to hard wooden blocks and rise with the level of swamp water and lower. The swamp offers the manobo everything they need to live.

Demographics and languages

In 2007 the province had a population of 609,447 people living in a total of 103,637 households. This is an increase of 44,558 people or 7.96% over the 1995 census. The province ranks 43rd in the Philippines' population statistics.

The population density is 61 people per km². This is the sixth lowest in the country. Agusan del Sur is the most populous province of the Caraga region .

The dominant religion is Christianity with a share of 79% Roman Catholic followers. Other popular religions are the Seventh-day Adventists , the Iglesia ni Cristo , the Independent Philippine Church, and the United Church of Christians in the Philippines .

Five of the indigenous ethnic groups are worth mentioning: the Aeta , the Mamanwa, the Bagobo, the Higaonon and the Manobo. The Manobos live along today's country roads and rivers across the border with the Davao de Oro province . The Higaonons are mainly found on the western banks of the Agusan River in the municipality of Esperanza opposite the border with Bukidnon Province .

The population of Agusan del Sur is mainly represented by immigrants from the Visayas who have mixed with the native races in recent years. For this reason, the Cebuano language is the dominant dialect of the province.

Of the native languages, Manobo is the most widely represented in the population. The dialects Boholano , Ilonggo as well as English and Filipino are also represented in the province.

economy

According to statistics from 1995, 75% of the population is employed in agriculture or forestry. With 243.85 km², rice takes up the largest part of the cultivated area. Bananas , coconut , wheat and corn are other common crops. The province also produces palm oil , mainly in the municipality of Rosario, as well as rubber and rattan .

Despite government efforts to promote livestock and poultry farming, the province has a severe meat deficit. Meat must therefore be imported from Davao City and Cagayan de Oro .

Agusan del Sur is largely dependent on Surigao del Sur and other provinces that supply the population with sea products. Still, freshwater fish such as neochanna , catfish and tilapia can be bred or caught in the province .

The province also has deposits of gold , silver , limestone and marble .

Administrative division

Agusan del Sur is divided into 13 independently administered municipalities and one city. The communities in turn are subdivided into a total of 314 Barangays (districts).

The province forms a congress district.

city

Communities

climate

The province lies geographically below the typhoon belt, but is usually touched by the foothills of the low pressure areas that form in typhoon areas such as the Visayas and Surigao del Norte Province . The climatic map of the Philippines classifies the province under climate type II.

This climatic type does not have a dry period, but has a noteworthy rainy season with sometimes heavy rains.

The maximum amount of rain increases in the course of the year and reaches its peak in the months between October and January. In contrast, there is no special dry month to be named.

The average monthly rainfall is 355 mm, with an average temperature of 27.15 ° C. Areas of this climate type are mostly found along or near the eastern coasts, where they open up to the northeastern monsoons.

history

Origin of name

The name Agusan is derived from Agasan , a local dialect word, which means where the water flows . This name refers to the great river, the Agusan River , which crosses the country from south to north, ending up in Butuan Bay. The river served as the main means of transport for the Spaniards to the center of northeastern Mindanao.

Early history

The Agusan Plain was inhabited by various communities in earlier times, such as the Manobos and Higaonons. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of a close relationship between this region and the other Southeast Asian states during excavations in the lower plains of Agusan.

In the pre-Hispanic times, the culture of Agusan was decisively shaped by the influence of the Majapahit Empire. This can be evidenced by the discovery of an eight inch (200 mm) portrait of a woman in pure gold, clearly resembling a Java Indian design , excavated at Maasam, Esperanza , in the early 1920s . In addition, some broken jars discovered in Bah-bah, Prosperidad , indicate that the area had an economic and cultural relationship with its neighbors in Southeast Asia.

The indigenous people of Agusan del Sur were the ancestors of today's Maman ethnic group, who were pushed back into the hinterland of the province by the first waves of Malay immigration from Borneo , Celebes and Malaysia . The immigrants, in turn, sought the protection of the jungle from the constant attacks of the Moro pirates, who, as seafarers, made the coastal regions of Mindanao unsafe.

Spanish period

In 1614 the Augustinian order established a mission in Linao, near what is now Bunawan. Missionary work was severely hampered by the hostility of the surrounding manobo groups. At the height of the power of the Sultanate of Maguindanao in the middle of the 17th century, the Manobos of the Agusan Plain were in an alliance with Sultan Kudarat . Linao was repeatedly attacked during the Caraga Revolt in 1629, as well as in the Sumuroy Revolt in 1649. Nevertheless, the mission continued its work into the 19th century.

Younger story

In the late 19th century, the Augustinian Mission had to surrender many of its territories, including that of the lower Agusan region, which had to be turned over to a reinstated Jesuit order. (The Jesuits were banished by the Papal Edict of 1760 and expelled from the Philippines in 1768.) Missionary work was also interrupted by the Philippine Revolution when the Jesuits either fled or were imprisoned by revolutionaries.

During the American occupation, logging became an important field of activity in Agusan del Sur. Many immigrants from the Visayas settled in the plains and pushed the local ethnic groups back into the mountain regions.

The area of ​​Agusan del Sur was administered as part of the great province of Caraga during the Spanish period. In 1860 she was placed under the command of Butuan , a district of Surigao Province. In 1914 the large province of Agusan was founded in the Philippines by the American government.

This was divided on June 17, 1967 by Republic Act No. 4979 into the provinces of Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur. In January 1970 the municipality of Prosperidad was assigned the seat of the provincial government. Since then, the government center has been located in his Baranggay Patin-ay.

Colleges

Attractions

Web links

Commons : Agusan del Sur  - collection of images, videos and audio files