The designation of the Pasonanca Natural Park in Zamboanga City as the 52nd ASEAN Heritage Park (AHP) is a solid proof of government conservation efforts.

“The journey of Pasonanca Natural Park to this prestigious status symbolizes our unwavering commitment to environmental preservation and sustainable development,” Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said in her speech at the unveiling ceremony on Monday.

The park, declared a protected area under the Expanded National Integrated Protected Area System Act, is the 10th AHP in the country but only the first in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

Loyzaga urged residents and local government officials to renew their dedication to the conservation and sustainable management of all protected areas across the country.

With a total area of 17,414 hectares, Pasonanca Natural Park is a bastion of biodiversity in the peninsula.

Its lush landscape is characterized by secondary and old-growth dipterocarp forests (lowland tropical trees).

Loyzaga said the threatened Mindanao bleeding-heart bird and the critically endangered Philippine Eagle are among the rare species sighted in the area.

ASEAN Heritage Parks are protected areas of high conservation importance, preserving in total a complete spectrum of representative ecosystems of the region, according to the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACD).

“These areas are established to generate greater awareness, pride, appreciation, enjoyment and conservation of ASEAN’s rich natural heritage, through a regional network of representative protected areas, and to generate greater collaboration among the 10 member states in preserving their shared natural heritage,” the ACD said. (PNA)