BACOLOD City – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will develop a management plan for the conservation of bats in the Philippines.
Protecting the “flying foxes” is “very much part of the policy agenda” of the Wildlife Management Section of DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau, its head Anson Tagtag said during the 4th International Southeast Asian Bat Conference held in the city last week.
According to Tagtag, they need to develop a management plan “so that we will be guided on what types of activities to be undertaken.”
With the plan, “we will be able measure how we progress throughout the years, and we will see and connect how bat conservation will contribute to human well-being,” stressed Tagtag.
He added that bats play a vital role in reforestation and ecotourism.
“They have a role in the natural seeding process. We can reduce costs on reforestation if we have these natural agents,” Tagtag said.
He added, “When we talk about ecotourism, bats are also mentioned because they are potential part of recreation. They should be appreciated. The visit to see bats in caves is an amazing site. It should be promoted for tourism.”
The DENR section chief also mentioned bats in Boracay, adding that they “have a proposal for a critical habitat for flying foxes” in the island resort.
There are 79 bat species in the country and 38 of them are endemic. (With PNA/PN)
