Mariculture park planned in Liguasan Marsh

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) plans to set up a mariculture park in Liguasan Marsh, said Keise T. Usman, DAF-ARMM secretary. "There are studies to develop a mariculture park in Liguasan Marsh that will be undertaken with the support of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources," he said in an interview late last week. Mr. Usman cited as possible model the tilapia fish cage project in the town of Datu Piang in Maguindanao that was funded by the Land Bank of the Philippines. He said a mariculture park in Liguasan Marsh should contribute to eventually achieving food security in Mindanao. In the autonomous Muslim region, a mariculture park is operating in the province of Tawi-Tawi with the support of the Growth with Equity in Mindanao, a program funded by the United States Agency for International Development. Plans of setting up a mariculture park in Liguasan Marsh, however, face uncertainties with the wetland’s destruction caused by both man and nature. Cotabato’s Catholic Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo said at least P9 billion is needed for the rehabilitation of the 288,000-hectare wetland that is reportedly rich in mineral gas deposits. "The rehabilitation work will take years," Fr. Quevedo, head of the Presidential Task Force for Mindanao River Basin Rehabilitation, said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Web site. He noted that lack of equipment is currently hampering efforts to preserve the marsh from further destruction. Liguasan Marsh is a known sanctuary of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and lawless elements engaged in kidnapping. Armed clashes between government and MILF troops, led by commander Ameril Umbra Kato, have erupted in portions of the wetland, which straddles the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat. Kato, who has P10-million bounty on his head, allegedly headed the pillaging of civilian communities in North Cotabato, after the Supreme Court imposed a temporary restraining order on the signing of the controversial government-MILF memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain. Fr. Quevedo said that tons of bombs have been dropped and bullets fired inside the jungle area of the marshland that damaged the environment. "The task force is doing its job now; the big work of rehabilitating the river system has yet to come, and it requires a lot of money and planning," Fr. Quevedo said on the CBCP Web site. At the same time, he said, storms have also damaged the area, making adjacent towns prone to flooding due to heavy siltation of the Liguasan marsh. The marsh also supports a huge variety of aquatic wildlife, including 20 species of fishes, three species of reptiles and over 20 species of waterfowl, herons, egrets and ducks. It is the only place in the country where the Comb-crested Jacana bird can be found. It is also known as the Lotusbird or the Lillytrotter bird, so named due to its habit of walking on the surface of water by leaping on leaves of louts or water lilies. The marsh is also home to the endangered Philippine Crocodile and the Estuarine Crocodile. The endangered Monkey-eating Eagle is likewise reported to be present in the forested areas of the marsh. - BusinessWorld