Editing Metro Manila (section)

===Parks===
{{See also|List of parks in Metro Manila}}
[[File:Rizal Park - Jose Rizal Monument with grass, right side (Manila; 01-01-2020).jpg|thumb|left|[[Rizal Park]] in [[Manila]].]]
[[File:View from the pathway at Paco Park.JPG|thumb|[[Paco Park]] is a former municipal cemetery built by the [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]] during the [[Spanish Colonial Era (Philippines)|Spanish colonial times]].]]
[[File:05805jfQuezon Memorial City Circlefvf 32.JPG|thumb|[[Quezon Memorial Circle]] (2015)]]
There are four national parks in Metro Manila. These are the [[Rizal Park]], [[Paco Park]], and [[Fort Santiago]] in the [[Manila|City of Manila]] and [[Quezon Memorial Circle|Quezon Memorial National Park]] in [[Quezon City]]. Rizal Park and Paco Park are managed by the National Parks and Development Committee (NPDC), while [[Fort Santiago]] is managed by the [[Intramuros Administration]]. A tripartite agreement between the Quezon City Government, the National Historical Institute and the NPDC transferred the management of [[Quezon Memorial Circle|Quezon Memorial National Park]] to the Quezon City Government.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 31, 2011 |title=Annual Audit Report of the National Parks and Development Committee |url=http://www.nationalparks.ph/transparency_seal/coa%20report%202011.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402093111/http://www.nationalparks.ph/transparency_seal/coa%20report%202011.pdf |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |access-date=March 12, 2015 |publisher=National Parks and Development Committee}}</ref> The region also has [[list of protected areas of the Philippines|three protected areas]], namely the Rizal Park, [[Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife Center]] and the Manila Bay Beach Resort.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Protected Areas in National Capital Region |url=http://www.bmb.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=382:ncr&catid=69 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402130003/http://www.bmb.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=382:ncr&catid=69 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |access-date=May 11, 2015 |publisher=Biodiversity Management Bureau}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=July 2021}}

[[Rizal Park]], also known as Luneta Park, is considered the largest [[urban park]] in [[Asia]] with an area of {{convert|58|ha}}.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gwen de la Cruz |date=January 12, 2015 |title=FAST FACTS: Rizal Park |work=Rappler |url=http://www.rappler.com/specials/pope-francis-ph/stories/80688-fast-facts-rizal-park |url-status=live |access-date=March 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307100459/http://www.rappler.com/specials/pope-francis-ph/stories/80688-fast-facts-rizal-park |archive-date=March 7, 2016}}</ref> The park along with the historic walled area of [[Intramuros]] are designated as flagship destination to become a tourism enterprise zone according to the Tourism Act of 2009.<ref name="TourismAct">{{Cite PH act|title=The Tourism Act of 2009 |chamber=RA |number=9593 |url=http://www.tourism.gov.ph/Downloadable%20Files/RA%209593.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430234102/http://www.tourism.gov.ph/Downloadable%20Files/RA%209593.pdf |archive-date=April 30, 2015 |access-date=March 8, 2015 |date=May 12, 2009 |publisher=[[Department of Tourism (Philippines)|Department of Tourism]]}}</ref> [[Paco Park]] is a recreational garden which was once the city's municipal cemetery built by the Dominicans during the Spanish colonial period.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Paco Park |url=http://pacopark.nationalparks.ph/main.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219030016/http://pacopark.nationalparks.ph/main.htm |archive-date=December 19, 2013 |access-date=May 3, 2014}}</ref> Filipino [[Landscape architect]] [[Ildefonso P. Santos Jr.|IP Santos]], the "Father of Philippine Landscape Architecture", was commissioned to do the design of converting the former cemetery into a park.

[[Manila Zoo]] is the oldest [[zoo]] in Asia, which was founded in 1959. It is the home to more than a thousand animals from 90 different species including the 40-year-old elephant, Mali. The zoo has an average of 4,000 visitors weekly. An estimated 40,000 tourists visit the zoo each month.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jenny F. Manongdo |date=May 21, 2015 |title=Manila Zoo renovation underway by July |work=Manila Bulletin |url=http://www.mb.com.ph/manila-zoo-renovation-underway-by-july/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522182735/http://www.mb.com.ph/manila-zoo-renovation-underway-by-july/ |archive-date=May 22, 2015}}</ref>

[[La Mesa Ecopark]] is a 33-hectare well-developed sanctuary around the La Mesa Watershed. It was established through a joint partnership between the [[Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System]], [[ABS-CBN Corporation|ABS-CBN]], and the Quezon City Government. [[La Mesa Ecopark]], along with the [[Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife Center]], are important [[nature reserve]]s in the Philippines.

The [[Las Piñas]]-[[Parañaque]] Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA) was declared as a critical habitat by the [[Government of the Philippines]] in 2007<ref name="lppchea">{{Cite web |title=Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS) – 2009–2014 |url=http://sites.wetlands.org/reports/ris/2PH006_RIS_2013.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714123046/http://sites.wetlands.org/reports/ris/2PH006_RIS_2013.pdf |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |access-date=July 4, 2014 |publisher=[[Wetlands International]]}}</ref> and was listed by the [[Ramsar Convention]] as a Wetland of International Importance in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Annotated Ramsar List: Philippines |url=http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-pubs-notes-annotated-ramsar-16085/main/ramsar/1-30-168%5E16085_4000_0__ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008102456/http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-pubs-notes-annotated-ramsar-16085/main/ramsar/1-30-168%5E16085_4000_0__ |archive-date=October 8, 2013 |access-date=July 4, 2014 |publisher=[[Ramsar Convention]]}}</ref> LPPCHEA is composed of the [[Freedom Island]] in [[Parañaque]] and the Long Island in [[Las Piñas]] that covers 175 hectares and features a mangrove forest of eight species, [[Mudflat|tidal mudflats]], secluded ponds with fringing salt-tolerant vegetation, a coastal lagoon, and a beach.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2015 |title=Metro Manila's 'secret' wildlife sanctuary – and why it might disappear soon |url=http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/450729/scitech/science/metro-manila-s-secret-wildlife-sanctuary-and-why-it-might-disappear-soon |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402182050/http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/450729/scitech/science/metro-manila-s-secret-wildlife-sanctuary-and-why-it-might-disappear-soon |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |access-date=March 11, 2015 |publisher=[[GMA News and Public Affairs|GMA News Online]]}}</ref>