ASEAN Protected Areas

Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park

ASEAN Heritage Park, Philippines

Location

The Park lies approximately between 12° 35’ to 12° 56’ N latitude and 121° 00’ to 121° 19’ E longitude and centrally situated between Occidental and Oriental Mindoro. The western half of the MIBNP is covered by the municipalities of Sablayan, Calintaan, Rizal and partly of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro; whereas, the eastern half is within the municipal jurisdiction of Bongabong and Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro. The Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park (MIBNP) was proclaimed by virtue of R.A. No. 6148 dated Nov. 11, 1970 with a total area of 75,445 ha. As such, it is an initial components of NIPAS.

Habitats

The large reserve contains much original montane forest on the main peaks (highest peak reaches 2,488 m) but much of the original semi-evergreen lowland forest has been cleared or burned off as a result of human activities. Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park encompasses at least 8 major river systems and has a rugged terrain composed of slopes, river gorge and plateaus.

The site is also an indigenous people’s reserve for the Mangyans and many villages remain inside the park.

Wildlife

The vergetation of the eastern portion of the park is composed of multi-stratal evergreen forest and dry season deciduous shrubs and trees composing of families of Dipterocarpaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Combretaceae, Anacardiaceae, Casuarinaceae and many others. The western part of the park has a high cover of grasslands dominated by species of Themeda triandra, Imperata cylindrica and Saccharum spontaneum.

The Park is the habitat of the biggest remaining population of endangered tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) which is found only in Mindoro. The Park was initially established as “game refuge and bird sanctuary”. The Park has been declared as an ASEAN Heritage Park and is also being considered as a World Heritage Site due to the endangered status of the tamaraw. Other forms of wildlife can also be found in the Park, like Mindoro pallid flying fox, Mindoro sambar deer, Philippine deer, wild pig and Mindoro cloud rat as well as a number of bird species which are endemic to the island such as Mindoro imperial pigeon, Mindoro scops owl, blackhooped coucal, scarlet-collared flowerpecker and heart pigeon.

The tamaraw or dwarf water buffalo (Bubalus mindorensis) is the largest wild land mammal in the Philippines. It resembles the water buffalo except that it is smaller and its horn grows straight upward into a “V” form. The Tamaraw is originally widespread in Mindoro and its population was estimated to be about 10, 000 in the early part of the 1900’s. The remaining population of the tamaraw at present is only a few hundreds and can mostly be found in the upper elevations of Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park. Other remnant populations may be found in the Aruyan-Sablayan area and Mt. Calavite.

Other Interests

Bird watching, mountain climbing, tamaraw watching and tamaraw observation in captivity at the Gene Pool.

Visiting

The park can be reached either by plane (40 min-flight) from Manila via San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, then by a long rugly road from San Jose to Poypoy, Calintaan, Occidental Mindoro. Another route is by boat from Batangas Pier to San Jose, Occ. Mindoro where several shipping lines are available. There are no special facilities available. Camping is permitted and a map of trails is available from the Protected Area Officers in Sitio Magtangcob and Sitio Iglit. Hotels are available in Sablayan and San Jose.

Conservation Programmes

The tamaraw has become the principal concern of the Species Survival Commission, International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Protection of this precious heritage and its habitat is now being undertaken by the DENR - PAWB through its Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP) together with the Protected Area Management Board of the Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park and the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. Conservation efforts such as protection of the tamaraw and its habitats in Mts. Iglit-Baco Na-tional Park; manning of entry/exit points to/from the park; and tamaraw population study and biodiversity monitoring are being undertaken, including an EU project implemented by the Haribon Foundation.

Threats

Much of the habitat of the park has been gradually converted to Imperata grassland as a result of regular burning. The rare tamaraw has been reduced by persistent hunting by local hunters. Cattle ranching, upland farming and firewood gathering are among the threats to the rapid deforestation both inside and outside of the Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park.