Update: Palawan Subterranean River makes it to Top 77 N7WN nominees

By Lily O Ramos

MANILA, July 10 (PNA) -- Cheers for the season!

The Philippines' Puerto Princesa Subterranean River in Palawan has successfully landed on the top 77 nominees on the New 7 Wonders of Nature (N7WN) international poll.

Being the world's renowned longest underground river, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park also features a stunning limestone karst mountain landscape.

Inside its large chambers are stalactite and stalagmite formations, while at the mouth of its cave thrives a bustling ecosystem teeming with monkeys, large monitor lizards and squirrels.

The Switzerland-based 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 on July 7.

Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said on Friday the campaign's success could have not 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 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.

Undersecretary for Tourism Planning and Promotions, Eduardo Jarque Jr. said, "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."

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 seven 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.”

The New 7 Wonders of Nature is an ongoing campaign sponsored by the New 7 Wonders Foundation based in Switzerland, which initiated the New 7 Wonders of the World project in 2007.

Sourced at the Ranking @ www.new7wonders.com, the following sites made it to the list: 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.

Note that the above list contains all the nominees eligible for consideration by the Panel of Experts, i.e. the Top 77 nominees minus those not eligible due to the rules of participation. (PNA)