DAVAO CITY – Local government units (LGUs) with jurisdiction on Mount Apo Natural Park are seeking its inscription as a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Global Geopark, a recognition that will further strengthen efforts to protect and preserve the country’s highest peak, a tourism official said.
Julius Paner, tourism officer of Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur told PEP Talks at SM Lanang Premier on Friday that these LGUs have already complied with UNESCO’s requirements and are now awaiting feedback from the international body regarding additional documents.
“We know that UNESCO [Global Geopark] is a very important recognition. Once declared, there will be greater interest in protecting this mountain,” he said, adding that one of UNESCO’s considerations for maintaining this status will include efforts for its preservation after inscription.
Once declared a UNESCO Global Geopark, Paner said Mount Apo would become the second site in the Philippines after Bohol Island to join the list of 229 geoparks across 50 countries worldwide.
He said Mount Apo has strong potential to be inscribed as a UNESCO Global Geopark because of its geographical characteristics, with its iconic boulder face serving as the “most dominant” feature, complemented by the lakes, sulfur vents, and craters, which proved that “Mount Apo erupted long ago.”
He said a Global Geopark, which showcases “sites and landscapes of international geological significance,” is different from a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which covers “properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage” and is recognized as “having outstanding universal value.”
In December 2009, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources sought the inclusion of Mount Apo in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. However, as of 2026, Mount Hamiguitan is the only mountain in the Philippines included in that list, along with Baroque Churches of the Philippines, Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, Rice Terraces of the Cordilleras, the historic City of Vigan, and Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park.
According to UNESCO, Global Geoparks are “single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education, and sustainable development.”
“A UNESCO Global Geopark uses its geological heritage, in connection with all other aspects of the area’s natural and cultural heritage, to enhance awareness and understanding of key issues facing society, such as using our earth’s resources sustainably, mitigating the effects of climate change, and reducing natural hazard-related risks,” it said.
It said that “by raising awareness of the importance of the area’s geological heritage in history and society, UNESCO Global Geoparks give local people a sense of pride in their region and strengthen their identification with the area.”
Mount Apo, also a popular eco-tourism destination, was declared an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Heritage Park through the November 29, 1984 Declaration on Heritage Parks and Reserves.
Mount Apo (2,954 masl) is a biodiversity hotspot. It hosts the critically endangered Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi). It was proclaimed as a protected area under the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992, which has been amended as the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018.
The Mount Apo Natural Park measures 54,974 hectares (with a buffer zone of 9,078 hectares), and covers Kidapawan City and Makilala and Magpet towns in Cotabato province in Soccksargen, the towns of Bansalan and Santa Cruz, and Digos City in Davao del Sur, and Davao City in Davao Region. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
