Agusan Marsh Panlabuhan
Floating Village
Agusan Marsh Panlabuhan Floating Village is the primary tourist attraction of Loreto, Agusan del Sur. It sits within the KanDiBuko clustered lake area in Sitio Panlabuhan, Brgy. Poblacion of Loreto—all belonging to the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) No. 090 of the Manobo ethnolinguistic group of Loreto. It is home to the indigenous cultural community of the Manobos. Despite the primitive state of various remaining elements of their culture and heritage, such as non-wearing of cultural attire on ordinary days, there are significant elements of their indigenous way of living that are still observe.
Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuaryis a large complex of unique freshwater marshes and watercourses with numerous small shallow lakes and ponds located in the upper parts of the Agusan River and its tributaries of eastern Mindanao, Philippines. It is one of the largest and the most contained freshwater catch basin wetland in the Philippines. The main habitats of the marsh include freshwater swamp forest, secondary scrub, herbaceous swamp, lakes, pools and rivers, rice paddies and other agricultural land. It is threatened by invasive species (plants and animals), habitat degradations, and water pollution.
According to a biological profile prepared by the DENR-BMB, the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary is home to 112 species of trees and other plant species. A total of 127 bird species can be found in the marsh, 31 of which are endemic to the Philippines, including 10, which are considered critically endangered. Being a wetland, the Agusan Marsh is also thriving with native fish, including 16 freshwater fish species.
Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary is declared an ASEAN Heritage Park in accordance with the ASEAN Declaration on Heritage Parks of 18 December 2003 in Yangon, Myanmar. Approved on November 8, 2018 by the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment (AMME) via ad referendum.
Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area and wildlife sanctuary declared by the former President Fidel V. Ramos. Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary is established by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 913 dated October 31, 1996. It is included in the list of Wetlands of International Importance by the RAMSAR Convention in November 12, 1999.
In 2006, Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary was submitted along with other twenty-seven sites in the Philippines to the Tentative List for possible nomination as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Umajam River
Barangay Violanta
Brgy.Violanta is the home of Manobo tribal cultural community where to gain in-depth knowledge on the ways of life of Manobo community, for sociologists, researchers and linguists. This barangay is also a perfect spot for tourists to learn about basic Manobo dialect, cuisines and cultural dances. It was then called “Manobo Cultural Immersion” activity after the launching on the recent Historical visits of the Miss Earth 2019 candidates (Fire group). The 25 empowered women were able to experience the way of living of the Manobo Cultural Community.
Last Battle Field of Waloe
In the heart of Barangay Waloe lies the locally considered last battle field of the World War II between the Japanese Soldiers and the combined Filipino Guerrillas and American Forces. The place was named after the American Army LieutenantWaloe who led the ambitious and fierce retaking of Barangay Waloe at the hands of Japanese invaders.
As shown in the photograph, the reminders of the once established garrison of the Japanese Forces cradled a cemented steps propagating the most destructive war of the human history.
