DENR seeks funding to protect 14 Asean heritage parks across PH

MAJESTIC. Mt. Apo is seen from Sitio Bagong Silang, Barangay Managa, Bansalan, Davao del Sur on Jan. 28, 2020. (Photo from ORLANDO DINOY) MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has called for bigger funding to protect Southeast Asia’s heritage parks. It warned that the “window to action is closing quickly” in addressing deforestation and ecosystem loss. Speaking at the ASEAN Heritage Parks forum on Tuesday, Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said: “The lesson is clear: Declaring an area protected is only the beginning.” Article continues after this advertisement “Protection must be matched by adequate resources, capable institutions, people on the ground, and sustained management,” he told the audience. He noted that Southeast Asia has one of the world’s highest rates of deforestation relative to its size among tropical regions. He cited studies a record that the region could lose up to 40% of its biodiversity by the end of the century if current trends persist. Read: Deforestation worst where governance is weak, says data analyst “This is also why our member states cannot afford to treat these warnings as a distant concern. The window for action is closing quickly, at a similar pace in every one of our countries,” said Cuna. Article continues after this advertisement “We must give our park managers and communities the resources, knowledge and support they need to make protection real so that a generation from now, our forests are still standing, our seas are still alive, and our wildlife continues to thrive,” he added. The Philippines is currently home to 14 Asean Heritage Parks. Article continues after this advertisement The Asean Ministerial Meetings on the Environment bestow this classification to the environmental sanctuaries. The selected places are Mount Apo Natural Park in Davao del Sur and Mount Iglit-Baco National Park in Mindoro, among the first sites to be recognized as heritage parks. Mount Kitanglad in Bukidnon, Mount Malindang in Misamis Occidental, Mount Hamiguitan in Davao Oriental, Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Agusan del Sur, Pasonanca Natural Park in Zamboanga Peninsula, Mount Timpoong and Hibok-Hibok Natural Monument in Camiguin, and Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve in Laguna are included in the list. Also recognized are the world-renowned Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in Sulu Sea, a Unesco World Heritage Site and one of the planet’s most biologically diverse coral reef ecosystems. In recent years, Philippines has added more sites in the list, including Mt. Inayawan Range Natural Park in Lanao del Norte and Apo Reef Natural Park in Occidental Mindoro, the Philippines’ largest contiguous coral reef system. It also has the Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary in Tawi-Tawi, the only major green sea turtle nesting site in the ASEAN region. Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. Also included as an Asean Heritage Park is the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park in Negros Oriental, which shelters hundreds of fern, tree, bird and other species found nowhere else in the world. /apl