Palawan hosts international confab on biosphere

The Palawan Council for Sustainable Development hosted local and foreign researchers engaged in the study of the biosphere and related disciplines for the three-day International Conference on Biosphere and Sustainability 2019 at the City State Asturias Puerto Princesa City on July 24 .

Jovic Fabello, Information officer of the PCSDS, said that the goal of the conference is to have a good exchange of practices and ideas among those who are involved in biosphere research.

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“Ang goal ng conference na eto magkaroon ng exchange ng good practices and ideas among biosphere reserves in the Philippines and in the whole world. At same time magkaroon ng cross pollination ng ideas and knowledge ng mga researchers sa mga participants ng conference na eto,” he said.

The conference showcased 90 presentations which were divided into four themes: Biosphere Reserves, Climate Change Resilience and Sustainability, Ecological and Biophysical Systems; Human and Environment Systems; and Economic Systems Innovation and Technology.

Sixty (60) of oral presenters competed and were judged on knowledge of the subject, the way of how they presented and the relevance of their study on the Province of Palawan and national level.

Fabello also added that Palawan has no common ground for this kind of expertise and also the conference will not happen without the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and local partner agencies.

“‘Yung Palawan kasi walang common ground to share ‘yung mga nalalaman. ‘Yung mga thesis at mga papers ng estudyante mapa undergrad, PhD, masteral wala tayong platform. Kaya etong ginagawa na to, eto ‘yung nag seserve na platform stage na kung saan lahat ng klase ng scientific finding, researches and scientific papers… Hindi ito mangyayari kung walang blessing ng UNESCO basically kaya ang title nito is Biosphere reserve,” Fabello added.

After the conference all the presented researches or scientific papers on the convention will be made available on a web platform and can be used as a reference and access by anyone.

According to Wikipedia, a biosphere reserve is an ecosystem with plants and animals of unusual scientific and natural interest. It is a label given by UNESCO to help protect the sites. The plan is to promote management, research and education in ecosystem conservation. This includes the ‘sustainable use of natural resources’. If, for example, fish or trees are taken for human use, this is done in ways which least damage the ecosystem.