Luna, Apayao - Key stakeholders for the proposed Biosphere Reserve for the yApayaos (BRyA) are currently conducting a five-day planning workshop and writeshop in Sta. Ana, Cagayan which started yesterday, March 13, 2023.
Following the creation of a Technical Working Group (TWG) in November last year to continue the legwork for the said bid, the matter is now back on track, with a more defined direction, to submit its final paper to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) by September this year with the hope to be inscribed as the fourth biosphere reserve in the country next to Albay, Palawan and Puerto Galera.
In setting the tone for the workshop, Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) Project Coordinator Ma. Susana Legaspi presented the dossier to be complied with by the province putting emphasis on the three core functions namely conservation, development and logistic support.
The workshop that will run until Friday, March 17, will focus on priority areas pre-identified by the TWG to be included under the core zone and which documentary requirements are being prepared by the TWG members concerned, with the EKB wildlife sanctuary, within the Apayao Lowland Forest Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) in Calanasan, the Mt. Likud, Mt. Lipsuk critical habitat in Calanasan, and the Nagan-Maton critical habitat in Pudtol are being considered for the said proposal.
TWG Chairperson and Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator (PPDC) Engr. Henry B. Caluducan in the opening said, "This is one of our strategies to preserve, conserve and protect our environment in Apayao. Your presence here shows your commitment to our vision."
Apart from it being a crucial input to the proposal, Caluducan said that the data to be generated from the mapshop and writeshops will also be used for other purposes such as for the Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment (CDRA), and in the preparation of both the forest and the comprehensive Land Use Plan (F/CLUP) for Local Government Units.
For his part, environmental consultant Atty. Romeo Bravo said, "let's make sure that we do what we really came here for," advising each one to be realistic with their data to be presented. "Tingnan natin kung ano yung doable at yung akma para sa atin sa Apayao."
Meanwhile, it could be recalled that in April 2015 a mesh which contained a one-month old chick was discovered by the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) in Calanasan, and three years later, such an unprecedented breakthrough drove Governor Elias C. Bulut, Jr. to push through with the project six years ago until it was momentarily halted for more or less three years due to the pandemic.
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