An eco-museum in Abatan River in Bohol, envisioned to be the first in the country, is being proposed with the auspices of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

This proposal, during the capacity building for stakeholders held at the Bohol Tropics Resort in Tagbilaran City, was pushed amid threats—siltation, exploitation, destructive fishing, shanties and water effluents—in the Abatan watershed area.

An eco-museum is a “museum without walls” located in rural areas, showcasing the locality’s linkage with history, landscape, natural resources and agricultural practices.

The proposed eco-museum is expected to generate income for locals and local government units concerned, as well as to promote species protection and tourism.

The Abatan River area—covering the towns of Cortes, Maribojoc, Antequera, Balilihan and Catigbian—is one of Bohol’s most important watersheds, the DENR said, owing to its rich biodiversity and source of livelihood of the surrounding communities.

Based on DENR’s inventory, the Abatan river basin shelters 67 species of wild animals, including the endemic fireflies (Pteroptyx incredermoth) and the golden-capped fruit bat (Aceroden jabatus).

There are also 273 plant species in the area, including 39 percent of the world’s mangrove species that are found in Tagbilaran—including endangered species such as tinduk-tindukan, api-api, gapas-gapas and malatangal/lapis-lapis.

The declaration of an eco-museum is within the ambit of the DENR and the Department of Tourism, in coordination with the Abatan river development management body of the provincial government.

Establishing the eco-museum requires identification of the network of attractions in the watershed area for information, documentation and ease of navigation; workshops/demonstrations; and regular events and advertisements.

Some challenges that must be addressed include competing interests, heavy rains and flooding, navigational hazards, privately-owned land along the river banks and land access to barangays.

If the plan pushes through, it will be the first eco-museum in the Philippines, joining an approximately 400 eco-museums around the world.

Source: https://news.mb.com.ph/2016/11/13/denr-mulls-eco-museum-for-bohol/