Tubbataha declared Asean Heritage Park

THE TUBBATAHA Reefs Natural Park is one of the few areas in the world where the Napoleon wrasse, locally known as “mameng,” thrives without the risk of overfishing. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora penalizes the catching or possession of mameng. YVETTE LEE/CONTRIBUTOR

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—A regional body tasked by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) with supporting conservation efforts in the region proclaimed on Thursday the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park as an Asean Heritage Park (AHP), a title bestowed upon crucial protected areas in Southeast Asia.

In a ceremony held on Thursday at the Palawan Provincial Capitol here, the program’s regional secretariat gave the title to the marine park’s management and the provincial government, which heads its policy-making body.

The Asean title was added to others that had been given the Tubbataha Reefs—World Heritage Site and Ramsar site.

Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention, or the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, which seeks to protect habitats of waterfowl.

The recognition, according to the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), which facilitated the inscription process for the marine park, would allow Tubbataha to establish a network with other heritage parks in the region and receive technical and financial support internationally for its conservation programs.

“The region and the world’s attention will focus on Tubbataha and Palawan for that matter,” said Roberto Oliva, ACB executive director, following the awarding here.

The proclamation of Tubbataha as an AHP was made official during the 12th informal Asean Ministerial Meeting in October.

Tubbataha became the seventh AHP site in the country, along with Mount Makiling Forest Reserve in Laguna, Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary in Davao Oriental, Mt. Iglit-Baco National Park in Mindoro, Mt. Apo Natural Park in Davao, Mt. Kitanglad Natural Park in Bukidnon and Mt. Malindang Range Natural Park in Misamis Occidental.

Oliva said the grant of AHP status to a protected area is meant to support “science-based” management efforts for protected areas that are important to the Asean region. With a report from Inquirer Research