Mt. Kilang in Calanasan, Apayao (Photograph courtesy of the Apayao Provincial Tourism Providers Workplace)
MANILA, Philippines – The Division of Tourism (DOT) has welcomed the current inclusion of Apayao within the UNESCO’s world community of biosphere reserves, which is the fourth within the Philippines to be acknowledged by the worldwide physique.
The UNESCO permitted the designation of 11 new biosphere reserves, together with the Apayao Biosphere Reserve within the Philippines throughout the thirty sixth session of the Worldwide Coordinating Council of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (ICC MAB) in Agadir, Morocco on July 5, 2024.
These new designations deliver the World Community of Biosphere Reserves to 759 websites in 136 international locations.
“The DOT extends its heartfelt congratulations to the province of Apayao for being acknowledged because the fourth ‘biosphere reserve’ within the Philippines by a physique of the United Nations,” Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco stated Friday.
“The popularity of Apayao by UNESCO serves as a testomony to the ecological significance and conservation efforts inside the province. The Division of Tourism seems to be ahead to collaborating with native stakeholders to additional elevate sustainable tourism practices and promote the great thing about Apayao and the complete Philippines on the worldwide stage,” she added.
Tagged because the “final frontier of Cordillera,” Apayao joins the provinces of Albay and Palawan, in addition to the seaside and dive spots of Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro, within the record of UNESCO biosphere reserves.
UNESCO created the Man and the Biosphere Programme to “improve the connection between individuals and their environments.”
Beneath the stated program is the World Community of Biosphere Reserves or websites that “exemplify concord between individuals and nature for sustainable growth.”
Wealthy biodiversity, tradition
Based on the Apayao provincial authorities, its bid for the “biosphere reserve” recognition began after discovering the primary energetic nest of the Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) inside forests in Luzon.
The stated discovery gave beginning to the Apayao Lowland Forest Key Biodiversity Space, which “serves as a refuge for critically endangered species just like the Philippine eagle,” stated the UNESCO in naming Apayao as one of many 11 new biosphere reserves for 2024.
It stated the biosphere reserve in Apayao, one of many six provinces that make up the Cordillera Administrative Area or CAR, “spans 3,960 sq. kilometers.”
Based on UNESCO, Apayao’s biosphere reserve consists of two areas: the Higher Apayao that displays “rugged terrain with towering peaks, plateaus, and valleys; and the Decrease Apayao that options “flatlands adorned with rolling hills and plateaus.”
Additionally, the 180-kilometer Apayao River is without doubt one of the largest river programs within the Philippines and “serves as an important watershed, nurturing 18 tributaries throughout the province,” added the UN physique.
Among the many vacationer points of interest in Apayao are largely pure websites such because the Lussok Cave and Underground River and the wavy and sharp Dupag Rock Formations within the city of Luna, in line with the Provincial Tourism Providers Workplace.
The stated workplace can be within the technique of validating tourism websites within the province’s seven cities together with waterfalls and nature-based tourism parks.
The province can be dwelling to the ethnic Isneg neighborhood that practices till immediately the Lapat system, which in line with research, “prohibits” or “regulates” extreme use of pure assets led by the tribal leaders.
The DOT, for its half, stated it stays dedicated to serving to protect the nation’s locations the place natural world thrive.
“The Division of Tourism stays dedicated to strengthening initiatives geared toward preserving the pure treasures of the Philippines noting that alongside the nation’s vibrant tradition and wealthy heritage, the varied pure landscapes play a pivotal function in establishing the Philippines as a particular and sought-after journey vacation spot,” Frasco stated.
As one of many 18 mega-biodiverse international locations on the earth, the Philippines is dwelling to as much as 80 % of the world’s plant and animal species.
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As a marine biodiversity hotspot, the Philippines can be dwelling to greater than 2,500 species of fish and 500 species of coral.
