- Albay was declared a UNESCO site
- It joins 19 other countries in the latest list of Biosphere Reserves
- Albay is the third province in the Philippines to be included in the UNESCO list
Albay, home to the majestic Mayon Volcano, has been included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) list of Biosphere Reserves.
This was made official on Saturday, March 19, after the UNESCO convened for a two-day meeting in Lima, Peru, said a GMA News Online report.
UNESCO’s list features areas that are example of sustainable development and biodiversity.
According to the UN arm, Albay has a notably high conservation values with its “182 terrestrial plant species, 46 of which are endemic. Its marine and coastal ecosystems number 12 species of mangrove, 40 species of seaweed or macro-algae, and 10 species of sea grass.”
“We consider it as our country’s modest contribution to the intergenerational transfer of resources to the future of the Philippines and the future of everyone,” Albay Governor Joey Salceda was quoted in a Rappler report.
UNESCO also said that five of the world’s seven marine turtle species are found in the Bicol province.
Aside from Albay, the other sites included in the latest edition of the list were:
- Monts de Tiemcen, Algeria
- Beaver Hills, Canada
- Tsá Tué, Canada
- Lake Bosomtwe, Ghana
- La Hotte, Haiti
- Agosthyamala, India
- Balambangan, Indonesia
- Hamoun, Iran
- Collina Po, Italy
- Barasakelmes, Kazakhstan
- Belo0sur-Mer, Madagascar
- Isla Cozumei, Mexico
- Atlas Cedar, Morocco
- Gran Pajaten, Peru
- Fajãs de São Jorge, Portugal
- Tejo/Tajo, Portugal/Spain
- Jozani-Chwaka Bay, Tanzania
- Isle of Man, United Kingdom
Albay is the third place in the Philippines to be part of the UNESCO list. In 1977, there was Puerta Galera and Palawan in 1990.
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