September 17, 2010, Venetian Hotel, Macau – Puerto Princesa Ecotourism – Bayanijuan Project Manager Dr. Gerry Ortega (in the middle) received the award for Iwahig River as Best Community-based Ecotourism Project at the 2010 Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Awards.
The Iwahig River Project is one of the five Community-based Sustainable Tourism (CBST) sites of Bayanijuan in partnership with Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. It showcases firefly watching, stargazing and mangrove river cruise. This project bested 200 other world-class entries from the Pacific Asia region. This project is a classic model of a successful private-public-community partnership between ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc. under Managing Director Gina Lopez and City Government of Puerto Princesa under Mayor Edward Hagedorn, together with Department of Tourism, Bureau of Corrections, other government agencies, private groups and communities.
The Community-based Sustainable Tourism (CBST) Project of Bayanijuan in Puerto Princesa aims to conserve the natural heritage of the city and to create economic opportunities for the communities – indeed an ecotourism in it real essence.
Other Ecotourism projects include Whale shark and Dolphin watching, Floating Restaurant, Mangrove River Cruise, Floating Marine Ecology Classroom at Pambato Reef, Ugong Rock Spelunking and Summit View Deck. International distinctions like 2010 PATA Gold Awards signal that more CBST projects are expected to be developed and promoted. / Ana Junio
