THE globally important Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary (MHRWS) and the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) have been added to the prestigious list of Southeast Asia’s most treasured parks, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje announced.
Paje said environment ministers from the 10 member-countries of the Asean have approved the nomination of the MHRWS and the TRNP as the 34th and 35th Asean Heritage Parks (AHP), respectively, at the 15th Informal Asean Ministerial Meeting on the Environment from October 29 to 31 in Vientiane, Lao PDR.
“The designation of TRNP and MHRWS as regional heritage parks is long overdue, both having been named earlier as Unesco [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization] World Heritage Sites,” Paje said.
The environment chief said the country was delighted by the designation, which brings to seven the total number of AHPs from the Philippines. “This latest recognition indicates that the natural characteristics of both TRNP and MHRWS are so exceptional they deserve to be protected for the benefit of everyone in Southeast Asia,” Paje said.
The nomination of the two parks was facilitated by Director Theresa Mundita Lim of the Biodiversity Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Lawyer Roberto Oliva, executive director of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity, said the two nature parks are now part of the AHP Program, a regional network of national protected areas of high-conservation importance, preserving a complete spectrum of respective ecosystems to generate greater awareness, pride, appreciation, enjoyment and conservation of Asean’s rich biodiversity.
The five other AHPs in the country are the Mount Apo Natural Park, Mount Kitanglad Range Natural Park and Mount Malindang Range Natural Park, all in Mindanao; the Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park in Occidental Mindoro; and the Mount Makiling Forest Reserve in Laguna.
Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary
COVERING a total of 6,834 hectares, MHRWS is shared by seven barangays: Macambol and Cabuaya of Mati; La Union, Maputi and Talisay of San Isidro; and Osmeña Sr. and Tandang Sora of Governor Generoso, all in the province of Davao Oriental.
Established in 2004, the sanctuary is dominated by Mount Hamiguitan, which stands at 1,637 meters. Mount Hamiguitan is distinguished by a bonsai field or “pygmy” forest of 100-year-old trees on ultramafic soil.
Noted for its rich biodiversity, the protected area has also been identified as one of the key biodiversity areas in the country. Major forest types in the sanctuary include cultivated forests with brushland and grassland at the lower portions of the park; secondary growth forest; and mossy forest in the highlands. Trees within the mossy-pygmy forest have an average height of only 1.4 meters with a diameter of 8 centimeters.
One of the dominant species that can only be found in this forest type is tinikaran or red fig tree, and Wendlandia nervosa.
Other rare plant species found on Mount Hamiguitan include the slipper orchid, nepenthes, staghorn fern, rhododendrons and Philippine hardwoods, such as yakal and tangile. Recorded fauna species in MHRWS include endemic mammals, such as the golden-crown flying fox, Philippine tarsier, Philippine warty pig, Philippine brown deer, Philippine mossy-pygmy fruit bat, Philippine monkey, Philippine palm civet, Philippine tree squirrel, Philippine common field rat and Mindanao wild pig.
The Philippine eagle has been recorded in the park, as well as endemic bird species, including the Philippine glossy starling, Philippine flowerpecker, Philippine turtle dove, Philippine coucal, Philippine hawk-eagle, Mindanao bleeding-heart, Philippine cockatoo, and the Philippine dwarf kingfisher.
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park
DUBBED as the country’s “ultimate diving destination,” TRNP is home to amazing diversity of marine life; at least half of all coral species in the world and almost 80 percent of all coral species in the Philippines; and green sea and hawksbill turtles.
Rays and sharks are common in the reefs. Pelagics, such as tuna, mackerel, jacks and barracudas, are observed in schools near the reef crests.
The park contains roughly 10,000 hectares of coral reef and more than 86,000 hectares of surrounding waters, lying at the heart of the Coral Triangle, which is the center of global marine biodiversity.
TRNP’s isolation has ensured that the rich marine resources of the park has remained relatively intact, and, thus provides the dream diving experience for those lucky enough to visit the park.
Located 181 kilometers southeast of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, TRNP is found at the very center of the Sulu Sea.
It lies along the Cagayan Ridge, which traverses the Sulu Sea from the northeast, from the Sultana Shoal in Cagayancillo, to the southwest, to the San Miguel Islands of Tawi-Tawi.
The park is uninhabited and is composed of the South and North Atolls and Jessie Beazley Reef.
The boundaries of TRNP are three nautical miles from the edge of these marine formations.
Because of the exceptional biodiversity of the park, TRNP has been declared a key biodiversity area, a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1993, and a Ramsar Site in 1999.
ACB
Image credits: Tommy Schultz, Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary and Natural Park