Regional ecotourism body to fund plant nursery for eco-military park

The Regional Ecotourism Council (REC) agreed to shoulder the building of a plant nursery to sustain the ecotourism activities of the Camp Manuel T. Yan, Sr. Eco Military Park and Tribal Village in Brgy. Tuboran,  Mawab, Compostela Valley.
The Technical Working Group (TWG) created by Gov. Arturo T. Uy and chaired by Col. Ricardo Nepomuceno of the 10th Infantry Division to develop the eco-military park requested the nursery project at the 3rd quarterly meeting of the REC at the conference room of the 100-hectare military camp on September 13.
Presiding officer regional director Arturo Boncato of the Department of Tourism and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional technical director Emmanuel Isip agreed with the presentation of Compostela Valley provincial tourism officer Christine Dompor that the nursery was important to sustain the reforestation component of the eco-military park project.
Since the operation of the park early last year, the military command and eco-tourists have already planted more than 10,000 seedlings of various species like narra and mahogany in identified sites within the military park.
The request for a nursery was one of three resolutions passed by the TWG in their meeting last June to speed up the improvement of the eco-military park.
The other two, which REC also approved, are a request to REC to endorse the Mahayahay cave A boardwalk project and to recognize the Camp Manuel T. Yan, Sr. Eco Military Park and Tribal Village as an ecotourism site.
Speaking for the TWG, Dompor said REC’s approval of the three resolutions marks a “big step” in promoting Compostela Valley as a centre for “peace tourism” and eco-tourism.
“This is a major development for the province, a big step in our campaign to promote the province as a peaceful place and as a learning, leisure, and adventure destination in Mindanao,” Dompor said.
Early this year, the Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) of the Department of Tourism recommended to the board of directors a PhP10 million grant requested by the provincial government through the provincial tourism office to develop the military park.
REC is the regional arm of the National Ecotourism Development Council to help implement approved  programs and activities. Its functions are: review, evaluate, approve and monitor ecotourism projects in their region; implement policies, guidelines, programs, projects and activities formulated by the Council; identify network of ecotourism sites in the region; and recommend plans and programs for ecotourism.
The provincial government of Compostela Valley through Gov. Arturo T. Uy, the 10th ID Command through then 10th  ID commander Maj. Gen. Jorge V Segovia, and the municipal government of Mawab through Mayor Evalina Jampayas signed a Memorandum of Understanding last year to develop the site as an eco-tourism destination to promote their joint peace, environment protection and conservation, and income generation initiatives.