24 - Vote for Mayon as one of world's new 7 wonders
Monday, March 24 2008 @ 05:18 PM GMT
Worldwide votes for Mayon Volcano, said to have the world's most perfect cone, for consideration in the "New7 Wonders of the World" list, is being solicited by Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal.
"I am rallying Filipinos anywhere in the world to cast their votes for this ongoing search, said the Mayor of the Bicol region's prime city.
Foreigners who love the Philippines can also vote and "each vote will be considered a lifetime token of charity for the relief and comfort of the yet to recover victims of disasters brought on by this natural wonder," said Rosal.
As of Monday morning, Mayon was listed in 96th place.
To join, go to http://www.new7wonders.com and register e-mail addresses, names and country of location. Voters can check out their first seven choices on a proforma registration form posted on the website, said Rosal.
Voting ends in December 31 this year.
Rosal said winning a slot in "7Wonders" would boost the local tourism industry and redound to more employment, better livelihood and business opportunities, infrastructure development and enhanced government services for people displaced by the calamities.
Apart from Mayon Volcano, two other Philippine nature sites have been nominated to the search: Tubbahata Reef National Marine Park off Sulu Sea and the Chocolate Hills in Bohol. Tubbahata is currently in 29th place, while Chocolate Hills is in 31st.
There are currently 275 nominees worldwide. Of these, 21 will be shortlisted and announced in January 2009. From this list, seven new entries will be officially announced in the summer of 2010.
"I am optimistic Mayon Volcano would make it to the finals. The city government is launching as soon as possible a massive awareness campaign in the locality and all over the country as well as reach out to Filipinos abroad for their votes," Rosal told reporters.
School children, college students, professionals and practically everybody who had the capability to cast a vote would be tapped into this campaign, he said.
Mayon is said to be the country's most active volcano, located 15 kilometers northwest of Legazpi and classified by volcanologists as a strato-volcano (composite volcano) whose symmetric cone was formed through alternate pyroclastic and lava flows.
It erupted about 50 times in the past 400 years, making it a part of what is called the Pacific Ring of Fire. The latest major eruption in recent memory was in 1993, burning to death with its super hot pyroclastic flows hundreds of residents farming on its lower slopes.
In November 2006, a super typhoon triggered massive flash floods of its slopes, carrying huge volume of debris into several municipalities and costing more than a thousand human deaths and thousands more homeless.
Chocolate Hills is an unusual geological formation in Bohol composed of around 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills, all about the same size, spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers.
The hills are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, thus the name "Chocolate Hills."
Tubbataha Reef is an atoll coral reef in the Sulu Sea. It is a marine sanctuary protected as Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park.
The reef is composed of two atolls, North and South Reefs. Each reef has a single small islet that protrudes from the water. A deep channel that is eight kilometers wide separates the atolls.
Over one thousand species, including many that are endangered, can be found at on the reef. These include manta rays, lionfish, tortoises, clownfish and sharks.
So far, those voted for the top seven are the following: Hang Long Bay and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and Fansipan Mountain, all in Vietnam; Cox's Bazar Beach and Sundarbans Forest, both in Bangladesh, the Ganges River that borders India and Bangladesh, and Mount Everest in the Nepal-China border.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the non-profit New Seven Wonders Foundation, which also undertook the "New Seven Wonders of the World" search that ended last year, organized the new search.
New7Wonders is a global movement, combining mass-media reach with global interactivity and in-market events. A traffic leading website and unprecedented media awareness make New7Wonders a truly unique opportunity, its organizers said in a statement.
The New7Wonders campaign is not only the first-ever global vote, but also the only election in which children can take part-a unique exercise in worldwide democracy, it added.
"I am rallying Filipinos anywhere in the world to cast their votes for this ongoing search, said the Mayor of the Bicol region's prime city.
Foreigners who love the Philippines can also vote and "each vote will be considered a lifetime token of charity for the relief and comfort of the yet to recover victims of disasters brought on by this natural wonder," said Rosal.
As of Monday morning, Mayon was listed in 96th place.
To join, go to http://www.new7wonders.com and register e-mail addresses, names and country of location. Voters can check out their first seven choices on a proforma registration form posted on the website, said Rosal.
Voting ends in December 31 this year.
Rosal said winning a slot in "7Wonders" would boost the local tourism industry and redound to more employment, better livelihood and business opportunities, infrastructure development and enhanced government services for people displaced by the calamities.
Apart from Mayon Volcano, two other Philippine nature sites have been nominated to the search: Tubbahata Reef National Marine Park off Sulu Sea and the Chocolate Hills in Bohol. Tubbahata is currently in 29th place, while Chocolate Hills is in 31st.
There are currently 275 nominees worldwide. Of these, 21 will be shortlisted and announced in January 2009. From this list, seven new entries will be officially announced in the summer of 2010.
"I am optimistic Mayon Volcano would make it to the finals. The city government is launching as soon as possible a massive awareness campaign in the locality and all over the country as well as reach out to Filipinos abroad for their votes," Rosal told reporters.
School children, college students, professionals and practically everybody who had the capability to cast a vote would be tapped into this campaign, he said.
Mayon is said to be the country's most active volcano, located 15 kilometers northwest of Legazpi and classified by volcanologists as a strato-volcano (composite volcano) whose symmetric cone was formed through alternate pyroclastic and lava flows.
It erupted about 50 times in the past 400 years, making it a part of what is called the Pacific Ring of Fire. The latest major eruption in recent memory was in 1993, burning to death with its super hot pyroclastic flows hundreds of residents farming on its lower slopes.
In November 2006, a super typhoon triggered massive flash floods of its slopes, carrying huge volume of debris into several municipalities and costing more than a thousand human deaths and thousands more homeless.
Chocolate Hills is an unusual geological formation in Bohol composed of around 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills, all about the same size, spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers.
The hills are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, thus the name "Chocolate Hills."
Tubbataha Reef is an atoll coral reef in the Sulu Sea. It is a marine sanctuary protected as Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park.
The reef is composed of two atolls, North and South Reefs. Each reef has a single small islet that protrudes from the water. A deep channel that is eight kilometers wide separates the atolls.
Over one thousand species, including many that are endangered, can be found at on the reef. These include manta rays, lionfish, tortoises, clownfish and sharks.
So far, those voted for the top seven are the following: Hang Long Bay and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and Fansipan Mountain, all in Vietnam; Cox's Bazar Beach and Sundarbans Forest, both in Bangladesh, the Ganges River that borders India and Bangladesh, and Mount Everest in the Nepal-China border.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the non-profit New Seven Wonders Foundation, which also undertook the "New Seven Wonders of the World" search that ended last year, organized the new search.
New7Wonders is a global movement, combining mass-media reach with global interactivity and in-market events. A traffic leading website and unprecedented media awareness make New7Wonders a truly unique opportunity, its organizers said in a statement.
The New7Wonders campaign is not only the first-ever global vote, but also the only election in which children can take part-a unique exercise in worldwide democracy, it added.
