Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPWP) late last year is nearing completion. The 990-meter long trash net built using renewable materials was set up to protect the mudflats and mangrove forests of LPPWP from solid waste that mostly come from inland sources.
As LPPWP is situated at the mouth of three (3) rivers in South Metro Manila—namely, Parañaque River, Las Piñas River, and Zapote River—it usually receives the trash thrown in the upstream parts of the river, polluting its mudflats and mangroves.
These mudflats and mangroves are frequented by migratory birds, however. It serves as an important feeding and roosting station for birds using the East-Australasian Flyway.
Protecting the LPPWP thus is important, not only because of the Philippine’s commitment to the RAMSAR organization (which declared the area as a wetland of international significance in 2013), the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS 1994), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD 1992), and the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES 1973) but also because it plays a major role in maintaining the balance in our urban ecosystem and the on-going rehabilitation of Manila Bay.
“Mangroves are natural filters. Their intricate root system helps cleans the water around them and absorbs toxic elements”, DENR National Capital Region Regional Executive Director Jacqueline A. Caancan said. “The healthier our mangroves and coastal ecosystem in LPPWP are, the cleaner shores of Manila Bay will be”, she added.
"Protecting our riverine, coastal, and marine ecosystems is an important component of our strategy to clean and rehabilitate Manila Bay," Director Caancan concluded.
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