Mount Hamiguitan is not like any other mountains as it is a home to an astonishing diversity of species including the endangered ones like the Philippine Eagle and the Philippine cockatoo. Furthermore, Mount Hamiguitan also has a great landscape that brought about its outstanding universal value. Needless to say, it deserves nothing less than becoming one of the World Heritage Sites along with the country’s famous destinations such as Palawan’s Tubbataha Reef Natural Park and Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park; the Rice Terraces in the Cordillera Region; the baroque churches in Manila, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte and Iloilo; and Vigan City.
Aside from the good landscape and its homage to diverse species, Mount Hamiguitan also showcases terrestrial and aquatic habitats at different elevations and includes threatened and endemic floral and fauna species that made UNESCO designate it as a World Heritage Site. This recognition was a milestone not only to the Philippines as a whole, but also to the humble Municipality where Mount Hamiguitan belongs.
The field of pygmy trees in Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary.
Mount Hamiguitan is a 1,620-meter mountain that can be found at the Pujada Peninsula within the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor in Davao Oriental. The mountain range has an area of more than 16,000 heactares where 6834 hectares was declared as a protected area in 2004 by virtue of RA No. 9303. The acknowledgement for the said site did not only bring pride to all the stakeholders involved in the process of preserving the natural beauty of Mount Hamiguitan, it also rung an alarm for an intensive and a more effortful conservation of the mountain range and the protection of the species within it.
Boundary Map Of Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary
Map of the inscribed property. Source: UNESCO
One thousand three hundred eighty-one species of flora and fauna are making a habitat out of the pristine vegetation of Mount Hamiguitan, 341 of these species are endemic. In the list of these endemic species are the Hamiguitan hairy-tailed rat, the Philippine tree squirrel, the rare Delias magsadana butterflies, among other noted endemic species. Moreover, exotic plants could also be found in the mountain such as alim, agoho, the critically endangered yakal, and the Paphiopedilum adductum orchid. Mount Hamiguitan was also noted to be the only habitat of the unique yet vulnerable Hamiguitan pitcher plant.
The common pitcher plant Nepenthes peltata found in the mountain of Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary.
Mount Hamiguitan also has a lot up in its sleeves as it is where Tinagong Dagat is hidden. Tinagong Dagat is a lake that experiences high and low tides. And what it takes so much pride in is its unique 225 hectares of bonsai trees estimated to be at least a century old and forming what has been considered as the country’s largest “pygmy forest”. These identified features are what strengthen the credibility of Mount Hamiguitan in its proclamation as one of the World Heritage Sites.
In the bid to protect Mount Hamiguitan and the lives depending on its bountiful resources, the government took a declaration that makes Mount Hamiguitan a protected area. This way, the mountain and all its natural wonders will be protected and preserved. Larger actions were also made possible such as the collaboration of DENR along with the other major stakeholders to make a law that adheres to the protection, formulation of management plan, control and regulation of all activities within the range of Mount Hamiguitan. This law was famously called as the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act.
The Challenge
Being called as a World Heritage Site, Mount Hamiguitan needs to be protected at all costs. Partly, because it is one of the major contributors to the growing tourist arrivals in Davao Oriental. Another is because it is a home to a lot of species that are threatened to lose existence if taken for granted. But most especially, it is because it contributes to the country’s natural heritage and the future generations need to witness its beauty and appreciate the life it brings to all the lives depending on it. By: Shaye N. Dacles