Local leaders use basic research for better governance, research council says
“There’s now a more conscious effort to use basic research and development outputs by the local leaders, from mayors, governors to house representatives, and we’re glad about this development,” Dr. Bernardo N. Sepeda, Executive Director of the Department of Science and Technology-National Research Council of the Philippines (DOST-NRCP), said during the pre-event press conference for the coming 2023 Annual Scientific Conference and 90th NRCP General Membership Assembly.
Sepeda mentioned that among the local leaders, one is Surigao Del Norte Mayor Alfredo M. Coro who actually approached the council because he wanted to sustain Siargao’s biodiversity and he recognized the importance of basic research in achieving this sustainability goal.
Coro committed to push for more research and a science-based sustainability development for Siargao’s biodiversity, and this was made possible through the DOST-NRCP’s Project titled, “Assessment, Inventory and Biological Field Surveys of Flora and Fauna of the Mangrove Forests in Del Carmen Siargao Island,” led by Dr. Cecilia Banag-Moran of the University of Sto. Tomas.
Del Carmen has garnered ample evidence to pursue enlistment of Del Carmen as a Ramsar site. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterflow Habitats or simply, the Convention on Wetlands is an international treaty that strengthens policies on the conservation and sustainment of wetlands.
Some of the well-known Ramsar sites in the Philippines include Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park.
Siargao aims to determine the presence of the diverse species from mammals, amphibians, reptiles, insects, flora, marine fishes, birds, to crustaceans, and possibly discover new species, as well as other threatened species (OTS), endemic species, and more in the waters of Siargao.
Dr. Cristine D. Villagonzalo, DOST-NRCP President and Chairperson of the Division of Physics noted that what is unique about the Council, particularly its basic R&D outputs is that they are products of a collaborative, multi-faceted approach to research, where
various experts from the sciences, the social sciences, and sometimes even the arts and humanities, collaborate and enrich the value of the research output.
The 2023 Annual Scientific Conference and the 90th NRCP General Membership Assembly which will be held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on 10-11 March 2023 will be participated in by researchers, scientists, and engineers, policy makers, scholars, academicians, entrepreneurs, technology generators and adopters, government officials, and private partners.
DOST-NRCP’s initiatives of promoting basic research nationwide has gained a lot of attention among some members of the lower house and local leaders, and this is a positive sign that policy and law makers are gradually seeing the value of using evidence-based research studies in crafting their proposed bills and ordinances. (By Geraldine Bulaon-Ducusin, DOST-STII)
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