4 RP national parks named among ASEAN’s ‘greatest’

Four Philippine national parks have been cited as among the "greatest parks" in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region.

The four are the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Mt. Apo National Park and Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park.

They are among 36 ASEAN Heritage Parks and World Heritage Sites featured in the just-published book ASEAN’s Greatest Parks: ASEAN Heritage Parks Programme.

The 200-page volume, complete with awe-inspiring and beautiful photographs, was published by the European Union (EU)-funded, Los Baños-based ASEAN Regional Center for Biodiversity Conservation (ARCBC).

The ARCBC is a joint project of the EU and ASEAN, with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as the implementing agency.

It was established in 1997 "to intensify biodiversity conservation through improved cooperation in a comprehensive regional context, by assisting in setting up a network of institutional links among ASEAN countries and between ASEAN and EU partner-organizations."

Tubbataha Reef

The Tubbataha Reef Marine Park and the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park are categorized as World Heritage Sites, while the Mt. Apo and Mts. Iglit-Baco National Parks are classified as ASEAN Heritage Parks.

The 33,200-hectare Tubbataha Reef Marine Park is located at the northern portion of the Sulu Sulawesi in the Palawan town of Cagayancillo, 181 kilometers southeast of Puerto Princesa City.

Tubbataha’s North Reef is a nesting site for sea birds of all kinds.

Rare fish can be found in the marine park. Marine turtles, including the critically endangered hawksbill and green turtle, nest in some of the beaches.

Tubbataha is considered one of the top diving destinations in the country. It is patrolled by the Tubbataha Foundation, a non-government consortium.

A project called the Protection and Information and Education Campaign for the Conservation of Tubbataha Reef Marine Park is being implemented by the Marine Science Research Institute of the Philippines, the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the DENR and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).

The project aims to train local people to enhance their participation in the active conservation of the reef, and explore possibilities for developing community-based tourism ventures as alternative livelihood.

Underground river

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is located in the Saint Paul’s Mountain Range on the northern coast of Palawan.

Its principal feature is an underground river, more than eight kilometers long and known as the Subterranean River or St. Paul Cave, which boasts of stalactites and stalagmites.

The park is known for the regular sightings of the threatened bird species of Palawan peacock-pheasant and Philippine cockatoo. Particularly important and endemic birds are the Palawan scops-owl, Palawan swiflet, Palawan hornbill, Palawan flycatcher and blue flycatcher, Palawan tit and Palawan flowerpecker.

Mammals in the park include the Palawan flying fox, Oriental small-clawed otter, Palawan stink-badger, binturong, Palawan flying squirrel, Palawan mountain tree squirrel and porcupine.

Established in 1936, the 73,113-hectare Mt. Apo Park in Davao Oriental is home to the Philippine eagle, the most important bird species on the mountain. The eagle is not found elsewhere in the world.

Mt. Apo Park’s flora include 629 species under 148 families of vascular and nonvascular plants. A total of 572 species belong to 124 families of ferns and angiosperms, while 57 species belong to 24 families of bryophytes or mosses.

A total of 227 vertebrate species belonging to 69 families of birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals have been recorded at Mt. Apo. There are also 118 species of butterflies belonging to 69 families in the area.

The 75,113-hectare Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park straddles Occidental and Oriental Mindoro.

Proclaimed a national park in 1970, the park is the habitat of the biggest remaining population of the endangered tamaraw, which is found only on Mindoro Island.

It has been declared an ASEAN Heritage Park and is also being considered as a World Heritage Site owing to the endangered status of the tamaraw.

The dwarf water buffalo is the largest wild land mammal in the Philippines. It resembles the water buffalo, except that it is smaller and its horns grow into a "V" shape.

The tamaraw was originally widespread in Mindoro and its population was estimated at 10,000 in the early part of the 1900s. The remaining population is only a few hundred, mostly found in the upper elevation of the Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park.