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Ecotourism Philippines Explore The Adventure Today

Photo courtesy: Juliet Solar

For many years Ecotourism in the Philippines has had bad-press, and justifiably so, e.g. tourist attractions that allow the visitor to observe the natural environment from the comfort of a gas-guzzling SUV traveling a concrete road, riding a zipline through a manicured portion of forest or, visiting a theme park, set in a portion of cultivated land beside the forest (from which it was hewn), to observe a selection of caged animals. Not exactly “Eco”!

 

Thankfully, increasingly, Ecotourism in the Philippines means engaging in outdoor activities and employing the services of a trained local guide who takes pains to point out all of the natural wonders in the vicinity and who has knowledge of the history and culture of the area from even before recorded time. The new Eco-tourism will typically mean hiking through lush rainforests, along rivers filled with sparkling clear water or maybe padding through mangrove forests, while you carry a lunchbox filled with local food, wrapped in banana leaves, and a water bottle filled with locally-sourced, spring water.

Ecotourism also increasingly means lodging in inn or resort rooms, situated and designed such that no more than an electric fan is required to keep the rooms cool, and in some cases the natural breezes alone can be relied upon to do everything.

Where Ecotourism works in the Philippines is where a community is motivated to protect a natural habitat or resource because income generated from visitor arrivals benefits a large cross-section of the community where the habitat or resource is located. In other words, where something gives benefit to the majority then the majority will ensure that the something is protected.

In recent months, in the heart of the Philippines archipelago, three island tour guide associations have been formed with the specific objective of developing tour packages based on principles of sustainable tourism.

On the islands of Romblon, Sibuyan and Sibale, tour guides, under an initiative of the ABS-CBN Foundation (Quezon City), team leaders from MarB Concepts (Davao City) have trained the tour guides and encouraged them to focus their efforts on designing tours that are: low-impact adventures (low impact on habitat and resources), embracing local conservation initiatives and including introductions to indigenous cultures, while providing economic benefits to the local communities and providing a venue to share knowledge.

The cornerstone of each tour guide association is the community itself, tapping the knowledge of the elders and helping it pass seamlessly to the youth . . . and to every tourist who wants to learn.

In Sibuyan the tourist will learn about medicinal plants of the forest along with the diverse wildlife that the most dense forest on Earth has spawned. In Sibale the highlighted learning covers conservation of habitat for marine creatures and an introduction to the wide variety of indigenous birds that are found in the remaining forested areas. On both islands, there are still animals and reptiles that have yet to be described by science along with some sub-species of birds and plants.

Whether your interest is 700 year old trees, endemic birds, exotic animals, endangered marine life, habitat conservation or environmental protection, realize that ecotourism has truly arrived in the islands at the heart of the Philippines, for the benefit of our children and our children’s children.

For more information, send an email to us at GetWet Asia [philippines@getwet-asia.com], stating your area of interest, and we will pass you inquiry on to the relevant party or association.

 

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