US TV special presents PHL's rich biodiversity

A recently aired US television special on the world's richest and endangered biological hotspots – which was also posted online – featured the Philippines’ rich biodiversity, from rainforests in the mountains to spectacular coral reefs. US-based ABC7 KGO-TV aired “Reefs to Rainforests: The Great Expedition," where Philippine and San Francisco Bay Area scientists discovered 300 new species. “The one-hour telecast highlighted the largest expedition of the California Academy of Sciences (CAS), a state-of-the-art natural history museum with an aquarium and planetarium. CAS chose the Philippines as the country was believed to be the 'center of the center' of global biodiversity," the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco reported. Consul General Marciano Paynor Jr. said: “This video presentation left me with a greater appreciation of the richness of our country. I encourage our Kababayans to watch, promote and share this telecast with friends and family to discover the immense biodiversity of animal and plant life in the Philippines." “The expedition made ground-breaking developments and discoveries, and recommended new protected areas for the preservation of the Philippines’ ecosystem," the Consulate General said. The Consulate General also provided a link to the documentary available online, which also highlights how aquarium biologists maintain environmentally sustainable exhibits, including a living model of a Philippine coral reef at CAS. Historic survey of PHL bio-diversity Aside from being the largest expedition undertaken by CAS, the 2011 Philippine Biodiversity Expedition was promoted as the most historic and comprehensive study of terrestrial and marine biodiversity in the Philippines’ mega-diverse 7,100-island archipelago. From April 26 to June 10 this year, the expedition team – whose members included 31 Americans with scores of Filipino botanists, entomologists, herpetologists, mammalogists and marine biologists – explored the shallow-water reefs, deep sea, and terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems of the country, looking for new life-forms never been recorded. The local scientists in the expedition were from the University of the Philippines (UP), as well as from the De La Salle University, University of Batangas, the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of the Department of Agriculture, and the National Museum of the Philippines. Among the places included in the expedition are Lake Taal, Anilao, the Verde Island Passage in Batangas, Mt. Makiling in Laguna, Mt. Banahaw in Quezon, Mt. Malarayat in Batangas, and Mt. Isarog in the Bicol region. “Our country is remarkably rich in biodiversity, from coral reefs to forests, rivers and lakes. Conservation of these resources is most critical to species survival, stable ecosystems and economic development on the Philippines and the world as well," said UP Institute of Biology director Perry Ong, who co-chaired of the UP Steering Committee of the 2011 Philippine Biodiversity Expedition, on the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity website. — Marlon Anthony R. Tonson /LBG/HS, GMA News