Mount Calavite (9737)
Philippines, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: B2
Year of last assessment: 2006
National site name: Mount Calavite
Central coordinates: Latitude: 13.4833, Longitude: 120.4000
System: freshwater, marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 1515
Area of KBA (km2): 196.50783
Protected area coverage (%): 91.67
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Mt Calavite is on a mountainous headland at the north-western tip of Mindoro Island. Until recently the area was a wilderness, with the north and north-west sides forested to the beach, but much of the forest has been cleared for agriculture. There are now large tracts of cogonal grassland, with second growth lowland forest patches confined to gullies and very steep slopes. Several hundred families reside inside Mt Calavite National Park, and most of them are engaged in farming. The area also has some value as a watershed and water source for the small town of Paluan.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs. KBA identified in the CI/CEPF Conservation Outcomes booklet for the Philippines Hotspot (2006). Taxonomy, nomenclature and threat category follow the 2004 IUCN Red List.
Additional biodiversity: Several of the threatened and restricted-range lowland forest species of the Mindoro Endemic Bird Area were collected on the west slope of Mt Calavite in the past. Although the area of lowland forest which remains there is probably small, it is likely that these forests are still important for the conservation of the highly threatened Mindoro endemics that are confined to lowland forest. Non-bird biodiversity: There have been recent reports of sightings of the Mindoro endemic Tamaraw Bubalus mindorensis in Mt Calavite National Park.
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: Mt Calavite is on a mountainous headland at the north-western tip of Mindoro Island. Until recently the area was a wilderness, with the north and north-west sides forested to the beach, but much of the forest has been cleared for agriculture. There are now large tracts of cogonal grassland, with second growth lowland forest patches confined to gullies and very steep slopes. Several hundred families reside inside Mt Calavite National Park, and most of them are engaged in farming. The area also has some value as a watershed and water source for the small town of Paluan.
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 33 | |
| Forest | 67 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: There are a number of potential threats to the forests at this site. On the Occidental side of Mindoro, perennial fires in the grasslands adjoining forests have eroded the buffer zones of open canopy second growth forest or brush around them. Most of the grasslands are being used as pasture, and regular burning is the conventional practice used to encourage the growth of young grass shoots. These are often left to spread into the forest, which is slowly decimating all remaining forests.