Mount Isarog National Park (9731)
Philippines, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2010
National site name: Mount Isarog National Park
Central coordinates: Latitude: 13.6500, Longitude: 123.3833
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 150 to 1976
Area of KBA (km2): 100.07713
Protected area coverage (%): 96.89
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Mt Isarog is a large, isolated peak in Camarines Sur Province, on the Camarines Peninsula in southeastern Luzon. The mountain is a dormant volcano that rises to 1,976 m. The vegetation there includes parang grasslands mixed with patches of secondary forest from the lowlands to 900m, lowland forest below about 1,000m, and montane forest above about 900 m,including mossy forest above 1,500 m. However, most of the remaining forest is montane, with closed canopy lowland forests restricted to very steep slopes within a narrow band around 890-1,000 m. There is limited tourism in the area mainly to Malabsay Falls of Naga City and the sulfur hot spring of Hiwacloy. Poor roads and security problems related to insurgency are major factors in limiting tourist numbers.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas)
Additional biodiversity: Many of the threatened and restricted-range birds of the Luzon Endemic Bird Area have been recorded on Mt Isarog, mainly during expeditions in 1961 and 1988. The substantial area of montane forest which remains there is likely to support important populations of montane species, such as the threatened Whiskered Pitta. The area of lowland forest there is now very small, and Mt Isarog has probably lost much of its value for the conservation of lowland forest birds. The sightings of Philippine Cockatoo in 1988 are particularly interesting, as they represent one of the very few recent records of this rapidly declining species on Luzon. Non-bird biodiversity: Mt Isarog supports the only known population of the Isarog Shrew-Mouse Archboldomys luzonensis, Isarog Striped Shrew-rat Chrotomys gonzalesi, and Isarog Shrew-rat Rhynchomys isarogensis, as well as many other threatened Luzon endemics, including the Southern Luzon Giant Cloud Rat Phloeomys cumingi.
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: Mt Isarog is a large, isolated peak in Camarines Sur Province, on the Camarines Peninsula in southeastern Luzon. The mountain is a dormant volcano that rises to 1,976 m. The vegetation there includes parang grasslands mixed with patches of secondary forest from the lowlands to 900m, lowland forest below about 1,000m, and montane forest above about 900 m,including mossy forest above 1,500 m. However, most of the remaining forest is montane, with closed canopy lowland forests restricted to very steep slopes within a narrow band around 890-1,000 m. There is limited tourism in the area mainly to Malabsay Falls of Naga City and the sulfur hot spring of Hiwacloy. Poor roads and security problems related to insurgency are major factors in limiting tourist numbers.
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 33 | |
| Forest | 67 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The montane forests on Mt Isarog and the narrow strip of lowland forest above c.900 m have remained relatively safe from forest clearing because of the steep topography and the scarcity of large dipterocarp trees there. Rattan is regularly gathered from this zone, but this activity has a negligible effect on the forest. However, below 900 m, illegal commercial logging operations and kaingin have cleared or degraded almost all of the forest, including within the national park boundaries. There are several settlements just outside the park boundaries, and the numbers of settlers inside the park has recently increased, so it is likely that the remaining undisturbed forests in the park will come under increasing pressure. However, residents around the mountain are now very committed to trying to return the mountain to ‘its natural state’, largely driven by concerns about water quality.
Additional information
References: Aguilar et al. (unpublished); Alfonso (unpublished); Alcala and Brown (1998); Goodman and Gonzales (1990); Heaney et al (in press); Rickart et al. (1992).