North-west Panay peninsula (Pandan) (9760)
Philippines, Asia

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: B2

Year of last assessment: 2006

National site name: North-west Panay peninsula (Pandan)

Central coordinates: Latitude: 11.7833, Longitude: 121.9667

System: terrestrial

Elevation (m): 200 to 915

Area of KBA (km²): 120.64508

Protected area coverage (%): 98.42

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: This IBA is on the peninsular north-western corner of the island of Panay. It includes an extensive area of lowland forest in the low hills in the interior of the peninsula, almost certainly the largest area of this habitat remaining in the Negros and Panay Endemic Bird Area. An estimated 2,500-5,000 ha of old growth forest survives there, including tall undisturbed dipterocarp forest, forest on limestone, lower montane forest and bamboo forest. These forested mountains constitute some of the last relatively intact watershed systems in the Western Visayas, and the tourist destination of Boracay relies heavily on the water supply from there. The human population in this part of Panay is reported to be relatively low.

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: The North-west Panay peninsula probably includes the most extensive and best quality lowland forests remaining in the Negros and Panay Endemic Bird Area, and this IBA is therefore a top priority site for conservation. Surveys by PESCP (the Philippine Endemic Species Conservation Project of the Frankfurt Zoological Society through the Animal Behaviour Research Group of Ruhr University Bochum, Germany) in 1996 and 1997 (the full details of which will be published shortly by Curio et al.) recorded several of the highly threatened lowland forest birds endemic to Negros and Panay, including a Bleeding-heart (the first records for Panay, most likely Negros Bleeding-heart), and Visayan and Writhed-billed Hornbills. Further surveys are expected to locate more threatened and restricted-range species, and many of these birds are likely to have significant populations in this IBA. Non-bird biodiversity: Several of the critically endangered mammal species endemic to the Western Visayas have been recorded there by PESCP. According to hunters, 20 Philippine Spotted Deer Cervus alfredi, remain. Visayan Warty Pigs Sus cebifrons, were frequently recorded.

Habitats

Summary of habitats in KBA: This IBA is on the peninsular north-western corner of the island of Panay. It includes an extensive area of lowland forest in the low hills in the interior of the peninsula, almost certainly the largest area of this habitat remaining in the Negros and Panay Endemic Bird Area. An estimated 2,500-5,000 ha of old growth forest survives there, including tall undisturbed dipterocarp forest, forest on limestone, lower montane forest and bamboo forest. These forested mountains constitute some of the last relatively intact watershed systems in the Western Visayas, and the tourist destination of Boracay relies heavily on the water supply from there. The human population in this part of Panay is reported to be relatively low.

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Artificial - Terrestrial	33
Forest	67

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The remaining forests in this IBA are under great pressure. The main threats include timber poaching and the large-scale conversion of forest into kaingin. Some natural forest has been converted to plantation, there are infrastructure and urban developments taking place around the forest, and forest products are collected. Hunting pressure is very heavy in the forests, and the populations of several of the most important bird and mammal species must have been greatly reduced as a result. The entire forest area is included in two mining applications pending with the Bureau of Mines and Geosciences, from Quarry Ventures Inc. and Teresa Marble Mining.

Additional information