Aquino opens Mt. Hamiguitan Eco Park in Davao Oriental

By Lilian C. Mellejor

HAMIGUITAN, Davao Oriental (PNA) – President Benigno Aquino III officially opened the Mt. Hamiguitan Eco Park and Interpretation Site which also houses the Natural Science Museum on Wednesday afternoon.

Mr. Aquino, who together with Governor Corazon Malanyaon unveiled the park’s marker, lauded the opening as it would serve as a critical habitat to protect biodiversity.

He said the site will spike tourist arrivals in the province and open more opportunities for jobs and livelihood.

As he is bowing out of office in June, President Aquino said he is leaving as legacy to the province the improved roads to the heritage site.

The national government has complemented building of roads and bridges in the province at the cost of Php236 million.

Governor Malanyaon thanked the President for his administration’s support to the province.

She said the museum is the centerpiece and symbol of the collective efforts of the national and local government.

The museum is located at Hamiguitan’s buffer zone which was developed with support of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) and the Department of Tourism.

The Eco Park features a Visitor’s Information Center, museum, research and tourists cabins, mountain trails and camping grounds, among others.

Recently, Mt. Hamiguitan bagged another international recognition as ASEAN Heritage Park after being inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage list last year.

The Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary now joins other Southeast Asia’s ASEAN heritage areas which are recognized for biodiversity importance and exceptional uniqueness throughout the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) member states.

Mt. Hamiguitan is the 8^th declared ASEAN Heritage Park in the Philippines and the 34^th in Southeast Asia. The other ASEAN heritage parks in the country are Mt. Apo; Mt. Iglit-Baco Natural Resources; Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park; Mt. Malindang; Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve; Mt. Timpoog Hibok Hibok Natural Park and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park.

Mt. Hamiguitan was nominated along with Tubbataha Reef. It was during the 15^th informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the environment when the nomination was approved.

This is the second recognition for the mountain range. Last year, Mt. Hamiguitan was inscribed to the World Heritage list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It is also identified and declared as one of the sites in the Philippines under a site-based Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) by the Philippines LTER, which is one of the country-based networks of International LTER. ILTER consists of networks of scientists with the aim to improve understanding of global ecosystem.

Mt. Hamiguitan has an elevation range of 170-1,637 meters above sea level and total area of 16,923 hectares. It is home to 1,403 species of flora and fauna, of which 963 are flora 440 and are fauna. It also has highly rare and globally threatened species of plants and animals such as the Philippine Eagle, Tarsier, Nannophya pygmea (world’s smallest dragonflies, and Philippine Cockatoo, among others.

So far, there are 38 ASEAN Heritage Parks that have been designated since the last inscription in November 2015. Four sites are designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Kinabalu National Park of Malaysia, Lorentz National Park of Indonesia, Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park of the Philippines, and Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary of the Philippines.

“Southeast Asia is a treasure trove of biodiversity containing about 20 percent of global plant, animal and marine species,” Jenelyn Soriano of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), earlier said.

ACB serves as the secretariat of the ASEAN Heritage Parks Programme. It was established in 2005 by 10 ASEAN Member states: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and the Philippines. (PNA)