Preserving a geological treasure
In September last year, a provincial board member of Bohol had asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to stop the construction of private structures within the Chocolate Hills area. The DENR finally heeded the call only yesterday, ordering the temporary closure of a resort after a video went viral showing swimming pools, slides and guest cottages built at the foot of some of the limestone mounds.
The Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort in Sagbayan town invites guest to see the Chocolate Hills up close. The Protected Area Management Board of the DENR allows private owners in the 50-square-kilometer area that straddles three Bohol towns to develop their properties for tourism. PAMB guidelines for property development, however, are reportedly silent on whether swimming pools and slides are allowed so close to the mounds.
On June 18, 1988, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared the Chocolate Hills a National Geological Monument, “in recognition of its scientific value and geomorphic uniqueness.” It is the third in the Philippines to receive that recognition from UNESCO.
While likening the conical hills that turn chocolate brown during the dry season to similar geological formations in Java, Indonesia, UNESCO describes the Chocolate Hills, estimated to number 1,776 mounds, as “more aesthetically extensive.”
In May last year, UNESCO adopted a resolution declaring Bohol island part of a global network of 195 geoparks in 48 countries – the first such recognition in the Philippines. In adopting the resolution, UNESCO declared that the island “features wondrous, not-yet-popular karstic geosites like caves, sinkholes, among others.” UNESCO also cited Bohol’s “400 years of rich history and cultural traditions in harmony with its unique geological treasures.”
Those treasures are in danger of looking like cheap, fake trinkets if tourism development around the limestone hills is not properly managed. The PAMB guidelines for private property development were released, however, before the UNESCO recognition of Bohol as a global geopark.
The people of Bohol, and the rest of the country, have a stake in protecting this unique natural attraction. A delicate balance must be struck between private property owners’ rights and the need to preserve a national treasure.