10/07/2026
The Provincial Government of Apayao formally opened the yApayaos' Biosphere Reserve Research Center in Eva, Calanasan, on July 7, 2026.
This coincided with the second anniversary of the province's inscription as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Apayao was inscribed into UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves on July 5, 2024, becoming the fourth biosphere reserve in the Philippines. The recognition followed years of scientific research, field documentation, and coordination among government agencies, academic institutions, conservation organizations, and Indigenous communities.
The opening of the yApayaos' Biosphere Reserve Research Center was led by Apayao Governor Elias Bulut Jr., Congresswoman Eleanor Bulut-Begtang, Vice Governor Kyle Mariah Chelsea Bulut-Cunan, Calanasan Mayor Shamir Bulut, Philippine Eagle Foundation Executive Director Dennis Joseph Salvador, representatives of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (UNACOM), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Cordillera Administrative Region (DENR-CAR), municipal officials, and representatives of partner agencies attended the inauguration.
The center will serve as a base for researchers, government agencies, academic institutions, and conservation organizations conducting studies within the Biosphere Reserve. It will also house reference materials and scientific information gathered through research and biodiversity surveys in different parts of the province.
Eva Garden was chosen as the site of the center after the first active Philippine Eagle nest documented in Luzon was discovered in the area, a finding that drew wider scientific attention to Apayao's forests and later supported the province's nomination as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
(Apayao PLGU / Calanasan MLGU)