- Anabelle Plantilla, a board of trustee from Haribon Foundation, went to the ecotourism conference held at Miriam College.
- At the Marian Auditorium in Miriam College last Monday, November 20.
- The ‘echo’ in the title of the conference stands for ecology, culture, heritage and opportunities involved in tourism.
The plenary ecology speaker, Anabelle Plantilla, talks about biodiversity and endemism in the Philippines during the “EchoTourism v3.0: Ecology, Culture, Heritage and Opportunities” in Miriam College last November 20.
Plantilla shared that endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country. If found elsewhere, the flora or fauna is not “endemic.”
She shared that Rafflesia is one of the most beautiful and most unique plant endemic to the Southeast Asia. It is a genus of a parasitic flowering plants. It is found in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and also, Philippines.
Gina Lopez, former environment secretary, also talked about the best way to learn tourism while she was at the conference. Plantilla acknowledged Lopez’ statements that Philippines is one of the countries that have the highest number of endemic species including:
Paphiopedilum fowliei
Sacred Garlic Pear (Crateva religiosa)
Spoon-leaved Sundew (Drosera spatulata)
She also encourages students of Miriam College to have external activities that could help local communities and increase ecotouristic barangay in the Philippines and enhance their learning experience.
“EchoTourism v3.0: Ecology, Culture, Heritage and Opportunities” held in Miriam College. last November 20. Gina Lopez, Anabelle Plantilla, Professor Eric Zerrudo, Dr. Joseph Renta III and Dr. Filiberto Pollisco, Jr spoke at the conference. The ‘echo’ in the title of the conference stands for ecology, culture, heritage and also, opportunities involved in tourism.
