LAKE MAINIT: WETLANDS COMMUNICATION, EDUCATION, AND PUBLIC AWARENESS (CEPA)

LAKE MAINIT KEY BIODIVERSITY AREA (LMKBA) Lake Mainit is the 4th largest lake in the Philippines located in the north-eastern part of Mindanao, CARAGA Region (Region XIII) which is under the jurisdiction of two (2) provinces namely: Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Norte. It is also the deepest lake in the country with maximum depth reaching 223 meters having a surface area of approximately 173.40 square kilometers. The community mostly relies on the resources they get from the lake, hence fishing is the common livelihood in the area. Since 2014, Asian Waterbird Census was annually conducted in Lake Mainit every second or third week of January. For this year's AWC activity (January 17, 2020), sixty-six (66) volunteers had recorded a total of 26,261 individuals composed of 38 waterbird species and 19 other bird species. In line with the celebration of World Wetlands day, the DENR-Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Surigao del Norte) will conduct a "WETLANDS COMMUNICATION, EDUCATION, AND PUBLIC AWARENESS (CEPA) CUM FEEDBACKING OF AWC RESULT" in villages (locally called as Barangay) or communities adjacent to Lake Mainit on February 6-7, and February 11-14, 2020 in the Municipalities of Mainit, and Alegria, Surigao del Norte. The activity aims to raise awareness on the importance of wetlands, the biodiversity they support, and the benefits gain from them.