Carissa C.

Alisbo GTPENCON
TOU 198 Ms. Victoria N. Nanagas

Philippine Protected Area: “Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary”

Mount Hamiguitan is a mountain situated at the province of Davao City in

Philippines and located at Davao Oriental in the southeastern part of the island of
Mindanao. It has a height of 1,620 metres (5,315 ft) with an area of 6,834 hectares
(68.34 km2), and it has a protected forest area of approximately 2,000 hectares. It was
declared a national park and a wildlife sanctuary in 2003. In 2014, the park was inscribed
as a UNESCO World Heritage Site becoming the first in Mindanao and the sixth in the
Philippines. Mount Hamiguitan encompasses 31,879 hectares of beach, lowland, montane,
and mossy forest types, as well as a unique pygmy forest of century-old trees, which many
consider to be one of the very few in the world. The endangered Philippine Eagle and
several species of Nepenthes are among the residents of this wildlife sanctuary.

This wildlife sanctuary falls under the

categories of Habitat/Species Management Area
because the mountain and its vicinity have one of
the most diverse wildlife populations in the
country, but different species that inhabit the area
have been found to be declining and endangered.
Some of the latter are endemic to the area, such as
Nepenthes peltata and Nepenthes micramphora.
Despite being known for its unique pygmy forest
of century-old trees in ultramafic soil, with a rich

Page 1 of 2
 biodiversity of many endangered, endemic, and rare
species of flora and fauna, this native species
requires conservation because many of them are
declining due to degraded habitat and the spread of
various nuisance species. Without protecting the
areas, aside from declining it can be possibly fall to
extinction or it will no longer exist, with the risk of
never recovering.

As part of the prestigious UNESCO World

Heritage List, Mt. Hamiguitan is expected to attract
not only more tourists, but also scientists and
researchers from both the national and international
communities. Hence, public awareness of Mt.
Hamiguitan and its exceptional values in the world
will be increased in order to raise global awareness.

https://www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/about/protected-areas-
categories/category-iv-habitatspecies-management-area

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_protected_areas_of_the_Philippines

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hamiguitan

Page 2 of 2