Board Member Ferdinand Zaballa is set to fly to Australia this September to represent the Philippines at the Biosphere Reserve Conference.
Zaballa explained that he was chosen as a delegate for the conference, which will be held in Brisbane starting on September 3. He currently holds the position of Liga ng mga Barangay Palawan Chapter president and vice chairman of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD).
He mentioned that he will be discussing the problem of excessive tourism, which is one of the factors impacting water quality in the province, particularly in El Nido.
“I will discuss programs that help us, kung ano ang ginagawa ng lokal na pamahalaan ng El Nido, ng provincial government, at ng stakeholders, kung ano ang ginagawang efforts para hindi tayo magaya sa Boracay. So we’re taking this seriously kaya dadalhin natin sa malaking forum sa mundo,” Zaballa said
“Yung paper na aking idi-discuss, ang title ay Water Woes in Paradise, Unveiling the Impacts and Challenges of Tourism in Palawan Biosphere Reserve,” he added.
He further stated that the 10-day forum will be attended by representatives from more than 60 countries.
Furthermore, he mentioned that he will also be presenting a paper on Plastic Pollutants in Palawan.
In this paper, he will discuss the measures implemented by the provincial government over the past five years to address issues of plastic pollution at various tourism sites in Palawan.
