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The Department of Tourism (DOT) and BirdLife International Inc. (BLI) have signed an agreement to support a bird conservation program as part of its strategy to advance birdwatching tourism in Cebu and other parts of the Philippines.

Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano said the DOT is promoting Birdwatching Phillipines as part of its adventure tourism packages.

It was acknowledged the “species champion” for the Cebu Flowerpecker during the 2009 British Bird Watching Fair in Ruthland, United Kingdom.

”The country has a very big potential in mainstream tourism that’s why we are pushing tourism traffic in the interior,” Durano said.

Durano was in Cebu Monday for the ceremonial signing and press conference of the Species Champion Agreement of DOT and BirdLife International Inc. (BLI) at the Marco Polo Hotel in Lahug, Cebu City.

Durano added the bird conservation program started two years ago but it only picked up this year when the British fair featured the Cebu Flowerpecker as its flagship species, under the theme “lost and found.”

The critically endangered Cebu Flowerpecker was once though extinct until it was rediscovered in 1992 in pocket forests in the hinterland barangay of Tabunan in Cebu City.

Of the 200 bird species in the Philippines, the Cebu Flowerpecker that is found in Alcoy town ranked third among the rarest birds in the country.

”This creates instant awareness and consciousness. If you are a birdwatcher, you will be influenced to consider Cebu as your next site,” Durano said.

“This bird has never been photographed and this further creates awe,” he said.

He said Alcoy town residents can become tour guides to help locate and identify the birds.

Durano revealed birdwatching is relatively cheaper compared to other tourism activities such as scuba diving and golfing.

“All you need is a pair of binoculars,” he said.

He said a big market for birdwatching exists.

Michael Lu, president of Wild Bird Club, said there are about eight million birdwatchers in the world.

Birdwatching is also one of the fastest growing recreational activities in Europe and the United States.

Birdwatchers have excellent chances to encounter the Cebu Flowerpecker in September to December.

Richard Grimmet, head of conservation and manager of the preventing extinction program of BirdLife International encouraged Cebuanos to do whatever they can to support the conservation and preservation of birds and their habitats.

BLI classified 190 species as critically endangered in the 2008 IUCN Red List because of their very small and declining populations and ranges.

BLI and its local partner Haribon Foundation Inc. appointed the Cebu Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc. (CBCFI) as the species guardian for the Cebu Flowerpecker and other regional species and habitats in Cebu.

Lisa Marie Paguntalan, research director of the Cebu Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, inspired politicians to recognize forest conservation and to adopt conservation education as part of their agenda, so Cebuanos will understand how their everyday lives affect the environment.

This article is distributed by www.Cebu-Philippines.net. An up-to-date guide to Cebu Philippines and the Philippines. Providing current and relevant information about visa, airlines, hotels, resorts, Cebu birdwatching, scuba diving, travel, health and wellness.

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Bird watchers and nature enthusiasts are expected to flock to this city as the 5th Philippine Bird Festival, the country’s largest celebration of diversity and bird lore awareness, is set to take off on October 9.

Balanga City holds the Philippine record for welcoming the largest concentration of wintering shorebirds from the Asian mainland and Japan.

The festival will mark the arrival from the Asian mainland and Japan of wintering shorebirds with the official dedication of the Balanga Nature and Wetland Park, the first protected wetland park in the whole Manila Bay area.

With the theme Ibong Dayo, Kaibigan Tayo! (The Migrant Birds: Our Friends), this year’s bird festival intends to drum up public support for the conservation and awareness of the Balanga wetlands where more than 15,000 individual birds were on record during the Asian Waterbird Census in January.

According to the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP), the country’s leading bird watching society and organizer of the Philippine Bird Festival, the wetlands of Puerto Rivas in Balanga City attract one of the largest concentration of migrant shorebirds and waterfowl anywhere in the Philippines creating interest in Philippine birdwatching.

“The Balanga wetlands always lands in the country’s top 5 wetlands with the most number of wintering water birds, which included Candaba Marsh in Pampanga and Olango Island in Cebu,” WBCP president Michael Lu said.

He said these three sites are in the Asian flyway, but the Balanga wetlands located across the Bay from Metro Manila continues to be a surprise.

“We hope to bring attention to the need to conserve the entire coastline and waters of Manila bay,” Lu said.

He also said the Balanga wetlands are being advocated as a bird watching destination by the Adventure Philippine campaign of the Department of Tourism and the Recreational Outdoor Exchange.

Bird Festival Committee chair Alice Villa-Real said the annual event hopes to raise the bar of information about the bird life of the islands, promote public interest in conservation and encourage the creation of more public green spaces.

Villa-Real said there are more than 600 species of birds in the Philippines, with no fewer than 200 which are found only in the archipelago.

She said this year’s Bird Festival will open with the dedication ceremony at the Balanga Nature and Wetland Park in Tortugas, followed by street dancing by local companies along the route to the new plaza Mayor de Balanga.

She also said there will be exhibition of bird photos, lectures and film screenings at the People’s Center in the capitol grounds, which will be open to the public free of charge.

Organizers said an activity center featuring bird-themed games, arts and crafts and face painting will be on tap for the young and the young at heart.

She said the provincial government will also concurrently stage a trade fair on the Capitol grounds that would feature the best products from the province’s 12 towns.

The Philippine Bird Festival was launched by local bird watching hobbyists in 2005 and has since brought the message of birdlife awareness and conservation to Cebu Philippines and Puerto Princesa in Palawan, two of the country’s important bird areas.

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