Mount Hamiguitan

Mount Hamiguitan is a mountain located in the province of Davao Oriental, Philippines. It has a height of 1,620 metres (5,315 ft). The mountain and its vicinity has one of the most diverse wildlife populations in the country. Among the wildlife found in the area are Philippine eagles and several species of Nepenthes. Some of the latter, such as the Nepenthes peltata and Nepenthes micramphora, are endemic to the area.[2][3] The mountain has a protected forest area of approximately 2,000 hectares. This woodland is noted for its unique pygmy forest of century old trees in ultramafic soil, with many endangered, endemic and rare species of flora and fauna.[4][5]

Mount Hamiguitan
Highest point
Elevation1,620 m (5,310 ft)
Prominence1,497 m (4,911 ft) [1]
Coordinates6°44′24″N 126°10′54″E [1]
Naming
Pronunciation[hamiɡuitan]
Geography
Mount Hamiguitan
Mount Hamiguitan
CountryPhilippines
RegionDavao Region
ProvinceDavao Oriental
City/municipality
Parent rangeHamiguitan Mountain Range
Geology
Mountain typeStratovolcano
Official nameMount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary
TypeNatural
Criteriax
Designated2014 (38th session)
Reference no.1403
State PartyPhilippines
RegionAsia and the Pacific

The Mount Hamiguitan range, with an area of 6,834 hectares (68.34 km2), was declared a national park and a wildlife sanctuary in 2003.[6] In 2014, the park was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, becoming the first in Mindanao and the sixth in the Philippines.[5]

Mount Hamiguitan is part of the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor.[7] Conservation of the mountain range is a multisectoral effort done involving the provincial government of Davao Oriental, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, local communities, and indigenous people.[8][9]

Geography

Mount Hamiguitan is located in the province of Davao Oriental in the southeastern part of the island of Mindanao, Philippines. It occupies the land area within the political boundaries of Mati, San Isidro, and Governor Generoso.[6]

Flora and fauna

Plants

Inventory of flora species in the mountain and its vicinity showed that its montane forest has the highest species richness of plants with 462 species, followed by its dipterocarp forest with 338 species, mossy forest with 246 species and agro-system with 246 species. The mountain also harbors 45 species of orchids, 23 of which are endemic to the Philippines.[10] Some of the plants commonly found on Mount Hamiguitan include the following:[5]

Nepenthes hamiguitanensis
A tree growing in the dwarf forest of Mount Hamiguitan

Animals

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List has identified at least 11 endangered vertebrate species. The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources and Development (PCARRD) reported that the mountain is inhabited by five endangered species, 27 rare species, 44 endemic species and 59 economically important species. The following species can be found in the area:[5]

Designations

In 2004, Mount Hamiguitan was declared as a wildlife sanctuary through the Mount Hamiguitan Law which was enacted under the initiative of senator Loren Legarda.

In June 2014, the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Prior to this, the site has already been declared an ASEAN Heritage Park.[14]

Notes
  1. de Ferranti, Jonathan; Maizlish, Aaron. "Philippine Mountains - 29 Mountain Summits with Prominence of 1,500 meters or greater". Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  2. "Nepenthes species in the Philippines". The International Carnivorous Plant Society. April 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  3. "Hamiguitan Range: A sanctuary for native flora". Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences. January 2011. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  4. "Davao Oriental wants Hamiguitan declared as world heritage site". GMA News. GMA 7. 2008-05-05. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  5. "Nine new sites inscribed on World Heritage List". UNESCO. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
  6. "An Act Declaring Mount Hamiguitan Range And Its Vicinities As Vicinities As Protected Area Under The Category of Wildlife Sanctuary And Its Peripheral Areas As Buffer Zone and Appropriating Funds Therefor". The LawPhil Project. Congress of the Republic of The Philippines. 2003-07-23. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  7. "Mt. Hamiguitan". San Isidro. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  8. Quismundo, Tarra (2013-06-25). "Mt. Hamiguitan being considered as Unesco world heritage site". Inquirer. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  9. "Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary". IUCN World Heritage Outlook. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  10. "Noteworthy records of Philippine endemic gingers (Zingiberaceae) in the buffer zone of Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, Davao Oriental, Philippines". Environmental and Experimental Biology. 16 (2): 111–115. 2018-06-30. doi:10.22364/eeb.16.10. ISSN 1691-8088.
  11. McPherson, S.R. 2009. Pitcher Plants of the Old World. 2 volumes. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
  12. Gronemeyer, T., A. Wistuba, V. Heinrich, S. McPherson, F. Mey & A. Amoroso 2010. Nepenthes hamiguitanensis (Nepenthaceae), a new pitcher plant species from Mindanao Island, Philippines. In: S.R. McPherson Carnivorous Plants and their Habitats. Redfern Natural History Productions Ltd., Poole. pp. 1296–1305.
  13. Gronemeyer, T., W. Suarez, H. Nuytemans, M. Calaramo, A. Wistuba, F.S. Mey & V.B. Amoroso 2016. Two new Nepenthes species from the Philippines and an emended description of Nepenthes ramos. Plants 5(2): 23. doi:10.3390/plants5020023
  14. "Six new sites inscribed on World Heritage List". UNESCO. Retrieved 23 June 2014.

References
  • Amoroso, V.B. & R.A. Aspiras 2011. Hamiguitan Range: a sanctuary for native flora. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences 18(1): 7–15. doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2010.07.003
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