Symposium on Biodiversity to Involve Public, Private Sector in Conservation Works

The role of the public and private sectors, including non-government organizations, will be among the main focus to help maintain sustainability efforts, as a four-day symposium on biodiversity unfolded at the Visayas State University (VSU) in this city.

“The goal of maintaining the health of our fragile ecosystem depends on our pragmatic approach to conservation. Poverty in many rural areas is a common barrier to how people and nature co-exist,” said Rainier Manalo, president of Biodiversity Conservation Society of the Philippines (BCSP).

Speaking before a gathering of intellectuals with wide interests in the diverse fields of studies of plants and animals, many of which were classified as endangered species, Manalo introduced a concept of conservation through sustainable utilization.

“Thus, I encourage you, my fellow wildlife conservationists, researchers, scientists and managers, to open your doors and recognize the vital role of public and business sector involvement as key to program sustainability,” Manalo declared in his remarks Tuesday, August 13, during the opening ceremonies.

“These sectors have shared the same intrinsic commitments that uphold environment and sociocultural development,” he added.

Nearly 300 participants from all over Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and some foreign delegates, including young students, all knowledgeable on matters relating to biodiversity, descended at the VSU-RDE building for a four-day symposium that began Tuesday until Friday, August 16.

Working with the theme “Conservation beyond borders,” expert speakers were expected to discuss current status, trends, challenges, and offer win-win solutions for those that depend on the land for livelihood, and those that desire nature to remain as is for future use.

The four-day event, also dubbed as the 28th Philippine Biodiversity Symposium, was organized by Leyte Sab-a Peatland Forest Restoration Initiative Project headed by Jerome Montemayor along with International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, and the BCSP.

Other speakers for the opening day included Atty. Teresa Tinazas, division chief, Biodiversity Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and Atty. Crizaldy Barcelo, regional executive director, DENR-Regional Office 8.

The president of VSU, Dr. Edgardo Tulin, welcomed all the participants and wished for them a fruitful, meaningful life-long experience while inside the campus. (LDL/MMP/PIA-8, Southern Leyte)