MANILA,Philippines - The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Marine Park (TRNMP) was officially launched as an ASEAN Heritage Park (AHP) on November 5.
READ: Tubbataha may be recognized as sensitive sea area
TRNMP, recognized by the International Maritime Organization as among the particularly sensitive sea areas in the world, is a 97,030-hectare marine protected area in Palawan that serves as a nestling site for birds and marine turtles. It also boasts of two huge coral atolls and large-scale lagoons.
#Tubbatahareefs now an ASEAN Heritage Park. #TubbatahaAHP
— Tubbataha Reefs (@TubbatahaLive) November 5, 2015 The Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board received the AHP certificate today from the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity to make the launch official.
In a previous interview, Karen Lapitan, the development communications consultant of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, said that the recognition follows the approval by the 12th Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Environment in October 2014.
The AHP Program is ASEAN's initiative to recognize best protected areas with high biodiversity and conservation values.
The marine protected area, located in the middle of the Sulu Sea, is the seventh AHP in the Philippines.