Re: 2005 EXPEDITION: YAMASH-I-T-A ( Japanese) TREASURE
zobex,
what do you think about this news?
National Geographic to look for rare marine species in RP
By KATHERINE ADRANEDA
National Geographic is set to arrive in the country before the end of
this year to conduct a "deep sea research" in the Philippines to
discover marine species that they believe can only be found here, US
Ambassador Kristie Kenney revealed over the weekend.
Kenney said plans for the visit of National Geographic to the country
are almost settled and they are only finalizing the exact date for
the arrival of one of the world's largest non-profit educational and
scientific organizations.
Kenney said National Geographic may arrive "sometime in September or
October" for the research project in partnership with the US and
Philippine governments.
"They're going to be doing deep sea research on the sea species that
they believe (could) be found only here in the Philippines and
nowhere else in the world," Kenney told reporters on the sidelines of
the Earth Day celebrations at Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City
the other day.
"They're going to do a special feature in their magazines and it's a
great way of calling attention to the extraordinary diversity in the
Philippines and of course allowing us to think about how to continue
to protect that," she also said.
National Geographic's conduct of a "deep sea research" is among
several initiatives that the US government is doing in the
Philippines, as it recognizes the need to preserve the environment of
the country, regarded as one of two countries in the world that is
mega diverse yet a biodiversity hotspot.
The US government is among the largest foreign-grant donors for the
environment in the Philippines. It has provided nearly $10 million in
grant-funding each year to support initiatives for environment
protection in the country.
The US government's environmental programs in the Philippines that
are being carried out in partnership with private companies include
coral reef protection, preservation of whale sharks, anti-illegal
fishing campaign, wastewater treatment, promotion of renewable energy
such as solar power, and opportunities for eco-tourism jobs.
Aside from environment projects, the US government also brings into
the country volunteers for environment work.
"I am very delighted in celebrating (Earth Day) here in the
Philippines. I have been here for a year now and we had a great
opportunity to (see) the natural resources, so we got to preserve
it," Kenney said.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR), the country is one of the two countries in the world, aside
from Madagascar, considered as the world's "mega-diversity country
and biodiversity hotspot," which refers to areas that have a high
diversity of plants and animals which are endemic, but at the same
time face serious pressures or threats of species loss and habitat
destruction.
On a per hectare basis, the DENR said the Philippines ranks in the
top 18 mega-diversity countries in terms of biological richness, with
its more than 52,177 described species, more than half of which are
found nowhere else in the world.
Together, the DENR also said, these 18 mega-diversity countries
contain between 70 and 89 percent of global biodiversity, and thus
form an integral part of the global heritage of diversity of life on
earth.
Citing the 2000 Red List of the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), 418 of the
country's 52,177 species were listed as threatened.
"The country is home to about 9,000 species of flora, a third of
which is said to be endemic to the country. It hosts 165 species of
mammals, 121 of which can be found only in this part of the world.
Unfortunately, it is also among the top 25 biodiversity hotspots in
the world," the DENR pointed out.
Marine biologist Dr. Kent Carpenter, coordinator of the Global Marine
Species Assessment of the World Conservation Union and fellow
researcher Dr. Victor Springer of the Smithsonian Institute completed
recently their 3-year study called "The Center of the Center of
Marine Shorefish Biodiversity: The Philippine Islands."
According to the scientists, the Verde Island Passage Marine
Corridor, located between Batangas and Mindoro Island, has been found
to have 1,736 overlapping marine species over a 10-kilometer by 10-
kilometer area, which is considered as "the highest concentration of
marine life in the world."
The Washington D.C.-based National Geographic, meanwhile, is a non-
profit educational and scientific organization, which interests
include geography and natural science, the promotion of environmental
and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and
history, according to Wikipedia.
Its historical mission is "to increase and diffuse geographic
knowledge while promoting the conservation of the world's cultural,
historical, and natural resources," as its purpose is "to inspire
people to care about their planet."
Internet information also said that the National Geographic is
governed by a twenty-three member Board of Trustees composed of a
group of distinguished educators, businesspeople, scientists, former
governmental officials, and conservationists.
The organization sponsors and funds scientific research and
exploration; and publishes an official journal, National Geographic
Magazine, and other magazines, books, school products, maps, other
publications, web and film products in numerous languages and
countries around the world.
QUESTION: do the National Geograhic have a hidden agenda in that area?
i smell fishy you know......why philippines of all? hehe.....it says "research project in partnership with the US and Philippine governments" (both governments really need gold this days)....
oh yeah...is it also the National Geography feature this Yamash*ta treasure on TV?..mmm.....interesting....very interesting....
GPR
Anyone who has worked the islands knows about what they call a “White Lady”. That is, some form of apparition that often takes the looks of a Spanish Colonial lady in a white’ish dress. Some times the expression is used to refer to a “ghost”. Well one of them kept being bothered or visited by a “White Lady”. So, he hired a female psychic or psychic healer, they are often the same. A bridge between the skilled psychic and the person that was being “visited”. So far this sounds like the typical Philippine treasure story. Well the psychic did a meet with the victim at his place in Manila and asked the “White Lady” what it wanted. The response was this. Come find us. It was from a Japanese Officer and a female Filipino Nurse who were buried below. OK, again this sounds like a typical Philippine treasure story. This fellow and is brother owned a vacant lot in the older section of Manila, a few miles from the OLD MANILA AIRPORT that was abandon in 1945-46 but was used extensively by the Japs in the war. The psychic tells them
.
