World Wetlands Day celebration is an ideal venue for raising awareness of wetland values and benefits.  With this year’s theme Caring for Wetlands, an answer to Climate Change, two key areas are being looked into – biodiversity and climate change, exploring their relationships and what it all means for wetlands and people. What is the human role in driving the loss of biodiversity?  What can we do to find solutions?
Wetlands are vulnerable to human-induced climate change but, if we manage them well, wetland ecosystems and their biodiversity have a role to play in the mitigation of climate change and will be important in helping humans to adapt to climate change through their critical role in ensuring water and food security.  Caring for wetlands is a part of the solution to climate change.

The Society of the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands, the country’s designated NGO Focal Point of Ramsar Convention’s CEPA (communication, education, participation and awareness), held a Program  at the Amphitheater of the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Nature Center in the morning of 02 February 2010 to celebrate the World Wetlands Day.  This was in partnership with the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau – Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the government Focal Point of Ramsar Convention’s CEPA.

 

Exhibit of Entries to the Candaba Wetlands Center Design Competition

Highlights of the program were the opening of the exhibit of entries to the Candaba Wetlands Center Design Competition (in partnership with the Architectural Students’ Association of the Philippines – UP Diliman Chapter); the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau and the Society for the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands on the development of the Wetland Exhibit at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Nature Center; and the awarding of the Wetlands Conservation Awards.

Helping make the event possible and successful were theProtected Area and Wildlife Bureau of the DENR, Architectural Students’ Association of the Philippines  – UP-Diliman Chapter, G-Star Ventures and Development Corporation, Davies Paints, and our CLEAR partner, Unilever – Philippines.

more about the Candaba Wetland Centre Design Competition >>