BCDA conducts symposium to protect Bataan forests

MANILA, Philippines - An environmental symposium on biodiversity and culture is set today, organized by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and the Bataan-based environmental activist group Mga Bayani ng Kalikasan, to preserve the forests of the Bataan National Park.

The gathering, also in honor of slain botanist Leonardo Co, will be held at the Sinagtala Social Hall in Barangay Tala, Orani Bataan.

BCDA chairman Felicito Payumo will present plans for eco-restoration and biodiversity conservation at the Bataan National Park, while Imelda Sarmiento will discuss the importance of using indigenous species in tree planting.

Payumo said the activity is part of BCDA’s corporate social responsibility program in communities traversed by its flagship project, the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

“In building this critical infrastructure, it is also BCDA’s responsibility to ensure that we protect and preserve the environment in the areas where we operate,” he said.

Co spent one month at the Bataan National Park with Ayta guides where he collected and eventually catalogued the flora of the Bataan National Park.

He was killed in a supposed crossfire between the Army and an armed group in Kananga, Leyte on Nov. 15, 2010, while searching for indigenous tree species for a corporate forest restoration project.

A Flora Adventure Hunt named after Co was held at the Bataan National Park last March.