All roads led to Purok 5 in barangay Dita, some 41 kilometers east of the city, as Zamboanga, spearheaded by Mayor John Dalipe, joined the observance of World Wetlands Day 2024, Friday, February 2.

Some 10,000 propagules were planted by different sectors and stakeholders in a 4-hectare mangrove area during the early morning planting activity organized by the city government through the Office of City Environment and Natural Resources (OCENR).

Themed “Wetlands and human well-being,” the activity was intended to raise awareness on the importance of wetlands for human lives and the planet and was also in support of Mayor Dalipe’s target to plant one million trees in Zamboanga City within his term as chief executive.

Joined by Councilor and Youth Commissioner CJ Dalipe, Mayor Dalipe thanked all the participants for their commitment to the environment by positively responding to the invitation to propagule/mangrove planting activity.

Close to 600 representatives from national and local government agencies participated in the early morning planting activity.

World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on February 2, marking the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on February 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

Per report, wetlands cover only six percent of the earth, but more than forty percent of animal and plant species live and breed in wetlands. The Ramsar Convention, named after the Iranian city of Ramsar, was an international treaty for the conservation of wetlands. (Sheila Covarrubias)