{"id":862,"date":"2018-01-19T08:23:40","date_gmt":"2018-01-19T08:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.palawan-philippines.com\/?page_id=862"},"modified":"2018-02-18T09:09:05","modified_gmt":"2018-02-18T09:09:05","slug":"palawan-underground-river","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.palawan-philippines.com\/palawan-underground-river\/","title":{"rendered":"Palawan Underground River"},"content":{"rendered":"

Palawan Underground River
\nOne of the New 7 Wonders of Nature<\/h1>\n
Palawan Underground River, one of the ruggedly beautiful and environmentally significant tourists sites in the world.<\/div>\n
\n
\"This
A snap shot from the video A Journey Through Time: The Puerto Princesa Underground River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

It is not just the cave river system. It is also about the spectacle and feel of the jagged tips and edges of full karst topography of Saint Paul Mountain Range. Mt. Saint Paul is the massive limestone\/karst rock that frames the 8.2-kilometer (5.1 mi) underground river.<\/p>\n

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Palawan Underground River is also known as Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP). The park is located about 65 kilometers north-west of Puerto Princesa City.<\/p>\n

National and International Declarations and Recognition that Represents the Site’s Global Significance<\/em><\/b><\/h3>\n

Declared as World Heritage<\/em><\/b> by UNESCO in December 4, 1999<\/p>\n

As we all know, all things are ecologically connected. Some locations on earth\u00a0possess special cultural and physical features that are important for the growth of humanity. Such distinct features heighten life and exemplify biologic diversity. The degradation of such locations thereof entails failure.<\/p>\n

The magnitude of the Saint Paul Subterranean River’s importance and value to humanity made it as a World Heritage.<\/p>\n

Failing to protect, manage and maintain the Underground River means we fail the human race of its heritage. Whether you are the direct steward, ordinary passer by or tourist, we are all responsible for its preservation. Correspondingly, if you’re an advocate or proponent of a coal-fired-power-plant nearby, you will be blamed.<\/p>\n

Hence, more declarations;s<\/p>\n

Wetlands of International Importance<\/em><\/b><\/h4>\n

Inter-government and Non-Governement Organizations committed to protecting and establishing wise use of Wetlands in different territories in the world convened in Ramsar City, Iran in 1971. The Wetland Convention came up with a list called Wetlands of International Importance. They also call it, the RAMSAR List.<\/p>\n

The PPUR Wetland starts with the Cabayugan River flowing through 8.2 kilometers of the St. Paul Mountain Range. The river gushed out towards South China Sea, west coast of Palawan Island. Due to tidal movement, sea water enters the river outflow creating an incredibly amazing underground marsh ecology.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/div>\n

According to scientists of the La Venta<\/em> Geographical Exploration one unique feature of the underground river is that the fresh and salt water does not mix much at the interface. It was evident when they captured live catfish a few hundred meters from where tourists enters the cave. They also cached a black mouth croaker (Atrobucca<\/em> nibe<\/em>), a kind of fish, deep into the cave. The abundance of life forms inside the cave make it sustainable for its habitats to survive.<\/p>\n

National Geologic Site<\/em><\/b><\/h4>\n

Declared by the National Committee on Geologic Sciences (NCGS) on December 2003<\/p>\n

The Saint Paul Mountains ranges 10 kilometers length and 3 kilometers wide and rising up to 1,000 meters above sea level. The Biogenic Limestone (remains of ancient coral reef of about 20 million years) proves to be of geologic importance. Hence, Saint Paul stands as a permanent laboratory for the study of geological processes.<\/p>\n

\"Saint<\/div>\n
\u00a0Important Bird Area<\/em><\/b><\/h6>\n

The mountain to sea forest landscape and diverse ecosystem within the Saint Paul’s karst topography represents Palawan’s Moist Forests, which is considered as one of the most significant in Asia. The Park is renowned of its high level of regional and local endemism.<\/p>\n

Majority of bird population that are endemic to Palawan can be found in Saint Paul mountain range. Heck, I think most of them originated from there and they just migrated to other parts of the province.<\/p>\n

Birdlife International also identified the Park as one of the 7 Endemic Bird Areas in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Established as National Park<\/em><\/b> (Pambansang Liwasan ng Pilipinas<\/em>) a Protected Area<\/em><\/b> of the Philippines since 1971<\/h4>\n

Puerto Princesa Saint Paul Subterranean River National Park was declared as Protected Area under the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act (NIPAS Act). National Parks are places of natural and historical value assigned for protection and sustainable utilization.<\/p>\n

Chosen\/Voted as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Here’s an amazing 13-minute video entitled A Journey Through Time: Puerto Princesa Underground River<\/em>. The video shows a group of scientist’s, from Italy, called La Venta Geographical Exploration, doing scientific research of the Palawan Underground River in 2007 and 2009.<\/p>\n