BY: JUJU MANUBAG-EMPUERTO
CEBU CITY, May 22 (PIA) --- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) led the local celebration of the International Day of Biological Diversity (IDBD) today as it steps up its campaign for the protection and conservation of biodiversity.
“It is a call for everyone to actively participate in protecting and preserving island ecosystems in the Philippines, which is considered as one of the mega diverse countries and world’s hotspots for biodiversity,” said DENR-7 Regional Executive Director Dr. Isabelo Montejo in a press statement.
The theme of the celebration today is “Island Biodiversity” which seeks to promote awareness on the rich natural resources that the island ecosystems harbor.
Montejo said biodiversity is the totality of species and the ecosystems they form, which includes all forms of life from micro-organisms to macro-organisms.
He added that islands are known to contain unique assemblage of life with unique species and the Philippines, being an archipelago, is rich in biodiversity and endemic species of wild flora and fauna.
At the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary (OIWS) Nature Center in Lapulapu City today, DENR 7’s Protected Area, Wildlife and Coastal Zone Management Services organized a biodiversity challenge on birds, mangroves, corals and sea grass identification within the mud flat of the 1,028-hectare OIWS, said Dr. Eddie Llamedo, DENR-7 information officer.
He added that the participants of the biodiversity challenge are students from Cebu Normal University (CNU), Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CITU), and the University of San Carlos (USC).
There will also be a lecture on biodiversity that will educate the participants on the values, benefits and importance of biodiversity, familiarize themselves with various wild plants and animals around the OIWS and commit to biodiversity protection and conservation.
Ninety percent of the calories consumed by people worldwide come from 80 plant species.
Fruits, nuts, mushrooms, honey, spices and other food that human and wildlife consume come from natural ecosystems.
According to Montejo about 80 percent of the world’s population still uses plants as their primary source of medicine, and close to 30 percent of all pharmaceuticals on the market today aree derived from plants and animals.
Also, forests as part of biodiversity, it purifies the air and the water by taking in carbon dioxide, regulating water vapor, releasing oxygen, and cycling nutrients.
Other benefits of biodiversity include good water quality, good climate, protection from soil erosion, and recreational or aesthetic appeal.
IDB is celebrated every May 22 of the year to commemorate the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity during the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992, Llamedo said. (rmn/jsme/PIA-Cebu/DENR-7)