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 Puerto Princesa Subterranean River in Palawan has successfully landed on the top 77 nominees on the New 7 Wonders of Nature (N7WN) international poll. Organizers of the N7WN reported that the top 77 were chosen out of the 261 contenders, after the second phase of the worldwide voting ended in July 7, 2009.
“The success of this campaign wouldn’t have been possible without the Filipinos’ worldwide support. We are grateful to the people who voted and heeded our call to promote one of our national treasures,” said Tourism Secretary Ace Durano.
According to the N7WN report, from the top 77 nominees, only 28 Official Finalists will be chosen by the N7WN’s Panel of Experts. The announcement of the 28 selected finalists will be made in Zurich at the New7Wonders Foundation headquarters on July 21, 2009 at 12.07 GMT.
“The Palawan Subterranean River has a very good chance of making it to the top 28, considering the criteria of the panel which include unique beauty, diversity, ecological importance, historical legacy, and geographical location,” said Undersecretary Eduardo Jarque, Jr., Tourism Planning and Promotions. Historical legacy refers to the people's relations or deep bond with the site, while geographical location means the even distribution of the contenders between continents and countries.
The top 28 finalists will compete against candidates within their category, which have been classified into 7 groups: Landscapes/Ice Formations, Islands, Mountains/Volcanoes, Caves/Rock Formations/Valleys, Forests/National Parks/Nature Reserves, Lakes/Rivers/Waterfalls, and Seascapes.
After the top 28 selection, voting resumes, while the New7Wonders World Tour visits the finalists to give each a chance to be seen by the whole world. The final proclamation of the 7 Wonders of Nature will be held in 2011.
Founder and President of New7Wonders, Bernard Weber, said, “The success of lesser-known locations shows that an important New7Wonders goal in this campaign is being achieved—broadening the horizons of the voting public around the world, thus helping us all better appreciate the diversity of our planet.”
Renowned as the world’s longest underground river, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park also features a stunning limestone karst mountain landscape. Inside its large chambers are stalactites and stalagmites formations, while at the mouth of its cave thrives a bustling ecosystem which includes monkeys, large monitor lizards, and squirrels.
The New 7 Wonders of Nature is an ongoing campaign sponsored by the New 7 Wonders Foundation based in Switzerland. The same group initiated the New 7 Wonders of the World project in 2007.
From the Department of Tourism
The following sites made it to the list:
(source: Ranking © www.new7wonders.com)
1. Al-hasa Oasis - SAUDI ARABIA
2. Amazon River - BOLIVIA/ BRAZIL/ COLOMBIA/ ECUADOR/ FRENCH GUIANA/ GUYANA/ PERU/ SURINAME/ VENEZUELA
3. Angel Falls VENEZUELA
4. Askania-Nova - UKRAINE
5. Atacama Desert - CHILE
6. Azure Window - MALTA
7. Bay of Fundy - CANADA
8. Belogradchik Rocks - BULGARIA
9. Bialowieza Forest - BELARUS/ POLAND
10. Black Forest - GERMANY
11. Bu Tinah Shoals- UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
12. Chicamocha Canyon - COLOMBIA
13. Christmas Island - CHRISTMAS ISLAND
14. Cliffs of Moher - IRELAND
15. Coatepeque Lake- EL SALVADOR
16. Cocos Island - COSTA RICA
17. Colca Canyon - PERU
18. Conchi - ARUBA
19. Cox's Bazar - BANGLADESH
20. Dead Sea - ISRAEL/ JORDAN/ PALESTINE
21. Dean's Blue Hole - BAHAMAS
22. Djavolja Varos - SERBIA
23. Douro River Valley - PORTUGAL
24. Eisriesenwelt - AUSTRIA
25. El Yunque - PUERTO RICO
26. Fernando de Noronha - BRAZIL
27. Galápagos Islands - ECUADOR
28. Grand Canyon - UNITED STATES
29. Great Barrier Reef - AUSTRALIA/ PAPUA NEW GUINEA
30. Ha Long Bay - VIETNAM
31. Han-Sur-Lesse Caves - BELGIUM
32. Iguazu Falls - ARGENTINA/ BRAZIL
33. Jeita Grotto - LEBANON
34. Jeju Island - KOREA (SOUTH)
35. Kaieteur Falls - GUYANA
36. Kaziranga National Park - INDIA
37. Komodo National Park - INDONESIA
38. Laguna Colorada - BOLIVIA
39. Lake Atitlan - GUATEMALA
40. Lake Bled - SLOVENIA
41. Lake Ohrid - ALBANIA/ MACEDONIA (FYROM)
42. Lake Saiful Maluk - PAKISTAN
43. Lake Saimaa - FINLAND
44. Lake Titicaca - BOLIVIA/ PERU
45. Maldives - MALDIVES
46. Masurian Lakes District - POLAND
47. Matterhorn/Cervino - ITALY/ SWITZERLAND
48. Milford Sound - NEW ZEALAND
49. Mount Kilimanjaro - TANZANIA
50. Mount Olympus - GREECE
51. Mud Volcanoes - AZERBAIJAN
52. Norfolk Island - NORFOLK ISLAND
53. Ometepe Island - NICARAGUA
54. Platano Forest - HONDURAS
55. Pravcice Gate - CZECH REPUBLIC
56. Puerto Princesa Subterranean River - PHILIPPINES
57. Retezat National Park - ROMANIA
58. Rock of Aphrodite - CYPRUS
59. Sinharaja Rainforest - SRI LANKA
60. Sipadan Island - MALAYSIA
61. Sossusvlei - NAMIBIA
62. Štrbské Pleso Lake - SLOVAKIA
63. Sumidero Canyon - MEXICO
64. Sundarbans Forest - BANGLADESH/ INDIA
65. Table Mountain - SOUTH AFRICA
66. Thy National Park - DENMARK
67. Uluru (Ayers Rock) - AUSTRALIA
68. Vesuvius - ITALY
69. Vrelo Caves - MACEDONIA (FYROM)
70. Wadi Rum - JORDAN
71. Yu Shan - CHINESE TAIPEI
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Palawan Subterranean River now among 28 finalists to compete for New 7 Wonders of Nature
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Palawan, acknowledged as the world’s longest underground river, has made it to the final roster of 28 sites that will compete for the global list of New 7 Wonders of Nature.
Federico Mayor, President of the New7Wonders Panel of Experts based in Switzerland, announced the inclusion of Puerto Princesa Subterranean River along with 27 other sites in the final roster.
“This campaign has been a success with the overwhelming support of Filipinos worldwide who relentlessly voted and promoted our national bet. Once again, let us keep our eye on the prize. Our very own site is so close to being hailed as one of the world’s seven outstanding natural wonders,” said Tourism Secretary Ace Durano.
Weber said the inclusion of Puerto Princesa in the final roster is an extraordinary achievement for the Philippines, and that the eyes of the planet will be upon the Puerto Princesa National Park and the Philippines for the next 2 years.
Aside from Puerto Princesa River, other finalists, which were selected from more than 440 sites around the world, were Amazon River in South America, Angel Falls in Venezuela, Bay of Fundy in Canada, Black Forest in Germany, Bu Tinah Shoals in United Arab Emirates, Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, Dead Sea in Israel and Jordan, El Yunque in Puerto Rico, Galapagos Island in Ecuador, Grand Canyon in the United States, and Great Barrier Reef in Australia and Papua New Guinea,
Also in the final roster are Halong Bay in Vietnam, Iguazu Falls in Brazil and Argentina, Jeita Grotto in Lebanon, Jeju Island in South Korea, Kilimanjaro
in Tanzania, Komodo
Island in Indonesia, Maldives Island, Masurian Lake District in Poland, Matterhorn/Cervino
in Switzerland and Italy, Milford Sound in New Zealand, Mud Volcanoes in Azerbaijan, Sundarbans in India and Bangladesh, Table Mountain in South Africa, Uluru in Australia, Vesuvius in Italy, and Yushan
in Taiwan.
Eduardo Jarque, Jr., Undersecretary for Tourism Planning and Promotions, said the campaign has boosted Philippine tourism to new heights.'
“The nation rejoices and celebrates the honor of having been chosen by a prestigious panel of judges. The whole country has indeed generated immense worldwide renown with this campaign which recognizes the diversity and natural beauty of our sites,” Jarque said.
The top 28 finalists will compete against candidates within their category, which have been cl*****ified into seven groups: Landscapes/Ice Formations, Islands, Mountains/Volcanoes, Caves/Rock Formations/Valleys, Forests/National Parks/Nature Reserves, Lakes/Rivers/Waterfalls, and Seascapes.
The New7Wonders World Tour will visit the finalists to give each a chance to be seen by the whole world. The final proclamation of the 7 Wonders of Nature will be held in 2011.
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park features a stunning limestone karst mountain landscape. Inside its large chambers are stalactites and stalagmites formations, while at the mouth of its cave thrives a bustling ecosystem which includes monkeys, large monitor lizards, and squirrels.