Mts. Apo, Hamiguitan vie for UNESCO World Heritage list

DAVAO CITY, Philippines  – Several sectors in Southern Mindanao are pushing for Mt. Apo and Mt. Hamiguitan to be included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage sites.

THE American Chamber of Commerce (ACC) – Davao City chapter leads various sectors in pushing for the inclusion of the two mountains.

Local government executives have also sent the necessary petition to the UNESCO office in Manila for the declaration.

UNESCO comes up with a new list of World Heritage sites once every three years in its bid to preserve ancient ruins and natural wonders of nature.

Included in the criteria for declaring a certain area as World Heritage site are biodiversity, social effects as well as threatened status of the sites.

Phillip Dizon, ACC-Davao president, stressed the importance of the UNESCO declaration to ensure the preservation of the two mountains.

“This has to be done soon as we consider Mt. Apo as a giver of life with its fertile soil. Mt. Apo is like a sponge that without it rains will be out of control for those in the lowlands,” Dizon said.

Dizon, however, said that with or without the UNESCO declaration, people must realize the importance of preserving and conserving the country’s natural wonders.