PCARRD to conduct training on ecotourism

PCARRD is set to conduct a week-long training-workshop on In-Situ and Ex-Situ Biodiversity Conservation Techniques for Ecotourism from 6 to 10 August 2007 at its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna.

The program will cover ecotourism concepts, principles, policies and impacts; biodiversity conservation, its definition, principles, uses and threats; valuation of biodiversity for ecotourism; and biophysical, socio-cultural and economic indicators of sustainable biodiversity conservation techniques for ecotourism.

Participants will experience first-hand learning through field exercises on the assessment of Mt. Banahaw-San Cristobal and Taal Lake Protected Area Management Systems, and on the assessment of the Philippine Raptors.

Resource speakers who are renowned in their own fields include Dr. Daylinda B. Cabanilla (Anthropology), Ms. Priscilla N. Calamag (Ecotourism), Dr. Lope A. Calanog (Protected Area Management), Dr. Gem B. Castillo (Resource Economics), and Dr. Perry S. Ong (Biodiversity Conservation).

The Philippines is among the few in the world to have high levels of biodiversity. Hence, it committed itself to conserve its biological and cultural diversity by signing the United Nations Convention on Biological Biodiversity. Likewise, the Philippines is known to have high levels of cultural diversity that are highly dependent on biodiversity (Rondolo and Cabanilla 2007).

These endowments make the Philippines highly suitable for ecotourism, defined as the environmentally responsible tour to relatively undisturbed natural areas for enjoying, studying and appreciating nature and its accompanying socio-cultural features.

Biodiversity is an important ingredient in ecotourism, and ecotourism and biodiversity ideally promote each other. Ecotourism also creates jobs, and helps boost economies of rural areas where most ecotourism sites are found (Rondolo and Cabanilla 2007).

Conserving biodiversity for ecotourism employs in-situ and ex-situ techniques, where an in-situ technique includes the establishment of natural parks and protected areas while ex-situ techniques include genebank and wildlife sanctuary establishment and captive breeding, among others. These techniques are already used in the provinces of Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon, where tourism/ecotourism is booming. (Rondolo and Cabanilla 2007).

Through the training-workshop, participants would be able to learn the different in-situ and ex-situ biodiversity conservation techniques for ecotourism and the biophysical, socio-cultural and economic indicators of sustainable ecotourism strategies.

They would also learn to evaluate the effectiveness of these techniques for ecotourism in Laguna, Quezon and Batangas. They would also be able to identify S&T interventions, which in turn will be translated into R&D activities to enhance the effectiveness of in-situ and ex-situ biodiversity conservation techniques in these provinces. (Ma. Rowena M. Baltazar, S&T Media Services)