9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 - Everything around you is alive. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We live in a world [br]where the palette 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is overwhelmingly gray on blue. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you're lucky, you get [br]a sporadic smudge of green. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Here you can see [br]the world breathe. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Highways are replaced by streams, [br]cars by canoes. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Your eyes think that [br]you're surrounded by land, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but it's a trick. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Underneath the growth, [br]more water, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a quiet resistance. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You follow one path today, [br]and by tomorrow it's gone. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There is no place [br]in the Philippines 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that carries more mystery[br]than the Agusan Marsh. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Some people see these wetlands [br]merely as ecosystems 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and important biodiverse areas. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Others see them [br]as big bags of cash, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 land to be turned [br]into highly efficient farms, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but a few people see them [br]as a home. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And this is their story. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary [br]stretches across 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 40,000 plus hectares [br]of wetlands, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 roughly the size of Manila. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's one of the biggest [br]in Southeast Asia 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and one of the most vital [br]in the Philippines. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 A Ramsar Site, globally recognized [br]but barely talked about. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's all interconnected by lakes, [br]rivers, marshes and ponds. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It acts like a giant sponge [br]during typhoon season, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 absorbing flood waters [br]for the entire Agusan River Basin. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Without it, who knows [br]what would happen 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to neighbor towns like Butuan? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's home to rare birds, [br]floating villages, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and indigenous communities [br]who've learned to live 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 with the rise [br]and fall of the water. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But it's under threat. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Pollution and climate change [br]are slowly choking it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 - Life cannot simply exist [br]without the Agusan Marsh. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The marsh protects everything here. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 When you talk [br]of the Agusan Marsh, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you got to take into account [br]the bigger picture 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of the Agusan River Basin. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Technically, that's the third [br]largest river system 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in the Philippines, [br]encompassing Regions XI and XIII— 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that's Davao and Caraga. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What you have here in our town, [br]your catch basin. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And come to think of it, [br]everything revolves 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 around this catch basin. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They say that life begins here. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There can never ever be [br]an Agusan del Sur 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 without the Agusan Marsh. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 - What's that, Datu? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 - Walking stick. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Datu Artemio was selected [br]as one of the leaders 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 due to his Lumad lineage. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The Lumad are some [br]of the first wave of people 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to settle in the Philippines, [br]specifically around Mindanao. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Their ancestral land [br]is often highly sought-after, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 making them one [br]of the most vulnerable 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 ethnic groups in the country. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They are also one of the few groups[br]that have held on 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to their pre-colonial culture. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 As in most areas [br]in the Philippines, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 where there is [br]a strong indigenous ancestry, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 most people with roles to play [br]in the community also happen 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to have official [br]government positions. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Datu was previously [br]an LGU official and now his son 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is barangay captain. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They both lead the people [br]in Caimpugan and its peatland, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 one of the many parts [br]of the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The relationship [br]between indigenous religions 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and the Catholic Church [br]is complex, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 marked by both historical tensions [br]and reconciliation. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Indigenous religions, [br]often rooted in animism 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and oral traditions, [br]are distinct from the church's 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 codified beliefs and practices. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Just like when we were colonized, [br]one culture doesn't 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 usually completely erase [br]the other, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 parts of it are indigenized. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So you'll find people praying [br]to the Catholic God 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 alongside other entities. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Where people live with the land, [br]these are still 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a common practice. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Most of the people here [br]are Catholic, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but their own Lumad culture [br]is still very strong, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 as it should be. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 These rituals are carried out [br]to ensure safe passage 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and acceptance [br]into the community. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 - What we have here within [br]the Augustan Marsh Wildlife Santuary 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is the Caimpugan peatland. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The peatland, it covers just 3% [br]of the Earth's surface. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But according to the ICUN, [br]they believe that peatland 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 conserves 30% [br]of the world's carbon, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and that is twice as much [br]carbon sequestered 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 as compared to all [br]the rainforests combined. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The conservation of wetlands [br]is crucial because it mitigates 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the impacts of climate change. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If it is damaged, [br]it releases tons of CO2 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 far greater than anything [br]in order to uplift 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and protect our wetlands.