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Bacolod City, Philippines Wednesday, April 25, 2012
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Help arrest ‘silent crisis,' media urged
BY CARLA GOMEZ

MANILA - The country's journalists were urged yesterday to take a greater role in promoting biodiversity conservation that is facing a silent crisis, and is failing to get sufficient media and public attention.

“This forgotten crisis is called biodiversity loss,” Rolando Inciong, head of communication and public affairs of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, who made the pitch yesterday at the ongoing 16th National Press Forum of the Philippine Press Institute at the Traders Hotel here.

“The issue may not be as hot as politics or the global financial crisis, but massive biodiversity loss has a huge impact on the lives of hundreds of millions if left unsolved," he said.

Biodiversity is the web of life that includes the full-range of ecosystems, he said, and "Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, is widely recognized as a treasure trove of biodiversity. The region occupies only 3 percent of the Earth's total surface but it is home to 18 percent of all known plant, animal and marine species."

And biodiversity is not just a collection of magnificent and wonderful species, we depend on it to supply our daily needs, Inciong pointed out.

“We depend on nature for our food, air and water, medicine, clothing, shelter, soil fertilization, air and water purification, protection from harsh weather conditions, and many more," he added.

In Southeast Asia more than 1,000 out of 64,800 known species of plants, mammals and marine life forms are endangered, he said.

And seven of the world's 34 recognized biodiversity hotspots are in this region, with the Philippines holding the distinction as the only country in the ASEAN identified as a biodiversity hotspot, Inciong added.

“The loss of biodiversity is beyond losing plants and animals. It is clearly an issue of human survival," he stressed.

Reducing biodiversity loss is not the sole responsibility by governments, the scientific community and conservation organizations, he said, individuals, businesses, communities, schools, women, youth and all sectors, especially the media must join the battle, too.

Inciong announced that in support of civic journalism in the area of biodiversity reporting, the ACB and the GIZ Germany through the Biodiversity and Climate Change Project will be supporting the 2012-2013 Civic Journalism Awards by giving a Special Award for Best Reporting on Biodiversity and Climate Change to be honored at the PPI National Press Forum in 2013.*CPG

 

 

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