Buruanga Hosts 5th Pista Ng Gubat

By Ulysses Espartero

The Local Government Unit (LGU) of Buruanga hosted the 5th Pista ng Gubat last week in Barangay Katipunan.
Organized by the Northwestern Panay Biodiversity Management Council (NPMBC) chaired by Libertad, Antique Mayor Mary Jean N. Te, Pista ng Gubat is an annual gathering of the constituents of the Northwestern Panay Peninsula to emphasize the life support value of the critical forest ecosystem in their midst.
Buruanga Mayor Concepcion "Inday" Labindao said "NPBMC is an alliance of local government units which membership comprises the provincial governments of Aklan and Antique consisting of five municipal governments in Northwestern Panay Peninsula. The towns of Nabas, Malay and Buruanga in Aklan and Libertad and Pandan in Antique are bound by a common goal to advance biodiversity conservation and environmental protection in Northwestern Panay."
In his letter to Aklan Gov. Carlito S. Marquez, BioCon, Inc. Program Manager Remy G. Muescan said, "the forest day will again take center stage to once more acclaim the biodiversity and ecological significance of the region. The event also marks the living cognizance among the peninsula community of the importance of the priceless natural resources of the region to the lives of its people and the local development."
The Northwest Panay Peninsula is known to be one of the remaining areas in Panay Island with intact forests and habitat to many endemic species.
A book entitled "Threatened Birds of the Philippines-Red Data Book" describes Northwest Panay as "likely the most important site for the conservation of lowland forest birds in Negros and Panay.
The area thus is expected to represent the best hope for the survival of highly endangered West Visayas endemic to include a variety of commercially and ecologically important floral species that are at risk of extinction.
Aside from NPBMC, participating organizations in the projects are BioResource Conservation trust for the Philippines, Inc., Northwestern Panay Biodiversity Conservation Project, Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE) and Haribon Foundation/Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund (CEPF).
Government agencies involve are the provincial governments of Aklan and Antique, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Tourism (DOT) and Department of Education (DepEd).
In his speech, Gov. Carlito S. Marquez cited the Northwest Panay Biodiversity Management Council (NPBMC) for providing a venue for multi-stakeholders to unravel the natural heritage and grandeur of the Northwest Panay Peninsula mountains and its forests.
"The provincial government is extremely grateful to NPBMC and BIOCON for bringing you all together to once more acclaim the biodiversity and ecological significance of the region. I must congratulate you for taking bold steps to raise awareness on the importance of the priceless natural resources of the region to the lives of our people and the development specifically of our 85 barangays," Marquez added.
Aklanons take pride for the recognition accorded to Northwestern Panay Peninsula as the single most significant tract of low-elevation forest in the Visayas and habitat to critically endangered wildlife," Marquez pointed out. /MPmailto:madyaas_pen@yahoo.com