RP nature wonders need votes

With only six days left before the end of the initial round of voting in the search for the “New Seven Wonders of Nature,” the six Philippine nominees to the international contest are still calling for much-needed support to sustain their standing and make it to the shortlist for the final voting beginning next year.

The non-profit organization New Seven Wonders Foundation had organized the search for the New Seven Wonders of Nature, which is scheduled to wrap up on Dec. 31.

As of Dec. 24, the country’s famous underground river – formally known as the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River – is ranked No. 1 while Tubbataha Reef ranked 3rd and the Chocolate Hills in Bohol ranked No. 5. The Mayon Volcano in Albay province is ranked No. 11.

The four entrees of the Philippines are among the top contenders out of 77 candidates, while two other local tourist spots rank poorly.

Mt. Pinatubo in Zambales is ranked No. 31 and the Hundred Islands National Park in Pangasinan is in 28th place as of Dec. 24.

According to the website www.new7wonders.com, there are three stages in the New Seven Wonders of Nature campaign: National Qualification, Nomination stage, and Finalist stage.

The National Qualification ends Dec. 31 to allow the committee to calculate and verify votes in this initial level. Between Jan. 1 and Jan. 7, 2009, all voting on the website will be on hold. Then the leading national nominees will be announced, and voting will resume for all multinational nominees and the remaining national nominees thereafter.

In the Nomination stage, voting for candidates will continue through July 7, 2009 after which the New Seven Wonders of Nature Panel of Experts, under the leadership of Prof. Federico Mayor, former Director-General of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), will review the top 77 nominees and choose only 21 finalists, which will be announced on July 21, 2009.

The 21 New Seven Wonders of Nature finalists will then be put to a popular vote from July 2009.

The website explained that voting for the finalists will continue throughout 2010 and into 2011. During this time, it also said, the New Seven Wonders World Tour will visit each of the finalists to allow them to present themselves to the voters across the globe.

The declaration of winners of the New Seven Wonders of Nature will be in 2011, the website also said.

Environmentalists have been urging the public to support the Philippine nominees in order to let them make it to the shortlist for the next phase of voting next year, and boost their chances of being among the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

“We know that the New Seven Wonders of Nature campaign will significantly raise awareness of the incredible variety and beauty of nature around us. As our slogan says, ‘If we want to save anything, we first need to truly appreciate it!’ This is something that is very important – more awareness and more tourism income means that these natural treasures can be better preserved for future generations,” the organizers said.

The New Seven Wonders Foundation said that its initial campaign on New Seven Wonders of the World was a resounding success, with over 100 million votes cast, which “took democracy to a new global level.”

This second campaign of the New Seven Wonders Foundation is off to a promising start as it managed to gather 430 nominations from 224 countries and voting by some half a million people within the first few months of the campaign that was launched early this year.

In its website, the New Seven Wonders Foundation stated that it aims to document and conserve works or monuments worldwide under the motto, “Our Heritage is Our Future.”