Thursday, November 13, 2008 Council pushes for Mt. Apo as world heritage site By Grace L. Plata
THE Davao City Council passed a resolution under suspended rules Tuesday in support of the nomination of Mt. Apo and Mt. Hamiguitan, both in Davao Region, as sanctuaries of endemism and Unesco world heritage sites.
The resolution, proposed by Environment Committee Chair Leonardo Avila III, aims to rally support so the two could be included in the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).
As such, the sites will be further protected through international cooperation and will be given ample support in the conservation efforts.
According to Avila, sanctuaries of endemism have been established in different locations within Mindanao.
These properties belong to the 15 bio-geographic zones in the Philippines and have been considered to have the highest land-based biological diversity in terms of flora and fauna per unit area.
The World Heritage Site program of the Unesco names catalogues and conserves sites of cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity. Under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund.
