Bantay Dagat steps up preservation, pursues sustainable development of tourism in Sorsogon

SORSOGON CITY: Bantay Dagat adhoc committee in Donsol town has organized the Bantay Dagat Federation to preserve and develop the rich marine resources and sustain ecotourism industry of their municipality. In a recent meeting, Salvador P Adrao Jr, former tourism officer of Donsol, now a councilor and lead convenor of the Donsol Bantay Dagat, said that the measure is an offshoot of the Bantay Dagat’s previous meetings to come up with the different strategies to protect and conserve the whale shark , thus improving the existing guidelines in its protection and their other rich marine resource. "The whale shark is our 'money- generating provider' ” that even led to the tremendous development in our municipality in terms of world exposure, and which change our life in our once before unknown town, Donsol," Adrao said. "Our town is now truly famous because of the whale shark (rhincodon typus) the biggest known fish in the world, that thrives here in our municipal waters and have made Donsol as one of the world’s best ecotourism destinations today in our country," he said.  Adrao also said starting January of this year, although there were rains, this situation did not stop the coming of tourists in Donsol from different places the world over. “The whale shark of Donsol is now a world renown phenomena in terms of tourism destinations, and tourists who go for adventure for an up close and personal thrill have made Donsol the prime ecotourism destination here in the Philippines,” Adrao said. The plan in preserving the Donsol marine resources with organizational structures involving other agencies mandated to assist in the conservation of the environment and promotion of tourism. "Now that the summer season is on, we have to be more vigilant in implementing the presrvation of our marine resources and adherence to our tourism rules," Adrao underscored. The Bantay Dagat Municipal Federation zeroed in on the commitment to have a sense of urgency in showing how tourism in their locality should be valued with discipline, how tourists should be provided security, treated with respect, and how the implementation of tourism rules, particularly in the conservation and preservation of their marine resources, will be given importance to sustain their place as a prime ecotourism destination. - PIA Sorsogon