NEGROS Occidental’s hosting of the 11th Philippine Bird Festival will highlight the need to further strengthen the conservation awareness among Negrenses, and boost the local tourism industry.
Themed “Pagpanghangkat sa aton tanan, kabuhing ilahas aton amligan,” this year’s bird festival will be held on November 24 to 27.
Gina Mapua, vice president of Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP), who led the press conference at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City said that aside from birds, conservation of other wildlife animals will also be the focus of the awareness campaign.
“This year’s festival is a means of growing the appreciation and love of the Negrenses, especially children, on the Philippine birds which are the most wonderful species in the world,” Mapua said.
WBCP, the lead organizer of the bird festival, is an organization that promotes bird watching and keeps bird sighting records in the country.
WBCP records showed that of the 740 bird species in the Philippines, 238 are endemic or can be found only in the country.
In Negros Occidental, there are currently 16 endemic species of birds like the Negros Fruit Dove, Rufous-headed Hornbill, and Visayan Tarictic Hornbill, according to the Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation.
Provincial Supervising Tourism Operations Officer Cristine Mansinares, who was also at the press conference, said the event is expected to gather 10,000 Negrenses, including hundreds of domestic and foreign tourists who are mostly bird enthusiasts.
Mansinares said the provincial government is optimistic that this will be the biggest affair attended by the public, which is also aimed at supporting tourism as an activity that can provide fund for the local conservation efforts.
“Apart from conservation awareness, it will bring in more tourists to visit the sites resulting to more income opportunities for the community in the local bird watching sites," she said.
The four-day festival will be celebrated simultaneous with the 12th Provincial Wildlife Month.
Activities include lectures, exhibits, and quiz bees in various venues like Silay City, Negros Museum, and SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City.
One of the highlights is the birdwatching in some areas in the province declared as Ramsar site.
“The activity defines the importance of conservation. Meaning, before the promotion of tourism in the area, conservation efforts should be done first," Provincial Environment Management Office head Wilfred Ramon Peñalosa said.
More Ramsar sites
Meanwhile, aside from the plan to be accredited as the third East Asian-Australasian Flyway Network Site in the country, the government is also positioning the northern portion of Negros Occidental as another Ramsar site.
Just last month, the Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area was declared the Philippines’ newest Ramsar site, the seventh in the country.
It covers 52 coastal barangays in 10 local government units, including the cities of Bago, Himamaylan, Kabankalan, and the municipalities of Pulupandan, Valladolid, San Enrique, Pontevedra, Hinigaran, Binalbagan, and Ilog.
Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office head Andres Untal said they are now working on acquiring Ramsar recognition for potential bird sighting areas from Talisay to Escalante most probably by next year.
“If water birds in the north will also be declared as protected area, it will further augment the terrestial birds in the two major natural parks in Negros," Untal said.