Ms. Lorna David, AsiaDHRRA CBRMD Program officer, is set to participate in the Provincial Ecotourism Research Validation and Planning Workshop to be held on October 10-11, 2007, in the Irosin Sorsogon, Philippines. The workshop is being conducted by LIKAS, a Sorsogon-based NGO with the support of Peace and Equity Foundation, the Foundation for Sustainable Society, Incorporated, and the Foundation for the Philippine Environment
The workshop is being conducted to validate the results of the research conducted by LIKAS on ecotourism in the Province. The research focused on three areas which are critical in establishing an environmentally sustainable market-based ecotourism program for the province of Sorsogon. These were ecotourism sites assessment, market research and labor and skills sector study.

This Provincial Ecotourism Research Validation and Planning Workshop will be the venue for validating the research findings and results, and crafting the provincial ecotourism framework plan and identifying the potential tourism niches of the Province other than being the whale shark capital of the region. The need to formulate an ecotourism plan which will provide the framework for the development of a more sustainable and viable tourism industry in the province was identified in the initial multi-sectoral consultations and planning in 2005.

AsiaDHRRA’s participation in the workshop is expected to provide valuable insights and perspectives that would be useful in drafting and eventually launching our Altour Program.