Tubataha

Read this article from the Philstar website, and i just want to share it here.

Tubbataha needs votes in ‘7 Wonders’ search
By Katherine Adraneda Monday, March 3,2008

Environment crusaders yesterday urged Filipinos to boost the chances of the Tubbataha Reef of Palawan in the ongoing worldwide search for the “New Seven Wonders of Nature.”

Sen. Pia Cayetano, who heads the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, joined the campaign, as Tubbataha Reef’s position in the global online poll has fallen four spots down in the last three weeks.

From rank 28 last Feb. 14, the world-renowned Tubbataha Reef, the only Philippine natural wonder nominated to the worldwide search, slipped to 32nd place among the Top 77 official candidates for the New Seven Wonders of Nature, as of noon yesterday.

“This global search may not be as popular or glamorous as ‘American Idol’ where a Filipino-American candidate is deservingly making waves, but the lone Philippine entry to the ‘New Seven Wonders’ also deserves the support of all Filipinos here and abroad,” Cayetano said.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the non-profit New Seven Wonders Foundation, which also undertook the “New Seven Wonders of the World” search that ended last year, organized the online search.

The list of nominees and the mechanics for voting are posted on the poll’s official website while latest ranking of candidates can be viewed online at http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/liveranking/. Voting is until Dec. 31, 2008.

After the voting, the top 77 nominees will be submitted to a panel of experts that will put together a shortlist of 21 finalists by January 2009.

A second round of popular voting for the 21 finalists will then ensue until the end of 2009.

The Top Seven nominees will be officially declared the “New Seven Wonders of Nature” by the year 2010.

Other nominees to the search are: Mt. Everest of Nepal, Amazon River and Amazon Forest of South America, Niagara Falls of North America, Grand Canyon of the United States, Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, Great Barrier Reef of Australia, Mt. Kilimanjaro of Tanzania, and Mount Blanc, more popularly known as the “Alps,” of France and Italy, among others.

Tubbataha Reef is an atoll coral reef found in the Sulu Sea. It is a marine sanctuary protected as Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park (TRNMP).

The reef is composed of two atolls, North and South Reef; and each reef has a single small islet that protrudes from the water.

Over a thousand species, including many that are declared endangered, can be found in the Tubbataha Reef. These include manta rays, lionfish, tortoises, clownfish and sharks.