As part of the Spark Samar campaign
TACLOBAN CITY- Nature lovers have a new place to visit in Samar province.
An eco-trail and birding site project, located in Paranas town, is set to open this summer where guests could freely commune with nature’ assets found inside the Samar Island Natural Park (SINP).
SINP is home to 215 bird species and over 1,000 species of flora and fauna, among others of its natural inhabitants, making an eco-trail an ideal activity, the Samar Provincial Tourism Office said in a statement.
The site had its soft launching last January 29 and will become an additional attraction to the Spark Samar, a tourism-related campaign of the provincial government under Governor Sharee Ann Tan.
The project is set to be formally open this April, just in time of the start of the summer season.
The eco-trail and bird watching project is in coordination with the ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Bantay-Kalikasan and is supported by the Department of Tourism and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Based on the information provided by the tourism office of Samar, rest stops will be put up along the identified trails wherein tourists could see up close the unique and endemic species of flora and fauna inside the SINP, considered to be the country’s largest contiguous tract of old-growth forest covering more than 333,300 hectares.
The trails are guaranteed to be environment-friendly and would not cause any destruction to the natural resources inside SINP as the program is aimed in not only in making it as a tourist attraction but preserve its environment.
The guests will be given ‘lecture’ by assigned guides about the program and what species of flora and fauna and birds that they could see during their trails visit.
A viewing deck will be established in a strategic area where tourists could see and take photos of the 215 species of birds endemic at the SINP.
It was learned that the Paranas eco-trail and birding site program is designed not only to attract tourists as part of the Spark Samar campaign but also to provide additional income, particularly the identified people’s organizations, the Tenani Association for Women and Development (Tawad), and the Tour Guides and Boat Operators for River Protection and Environmental Development Organization (Torpedo).
The two organizations are trained in tour guiding, among others.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
