Guarding Mt. Porras in Sibalom, Antique
(First of two parts)
With Mt. Porras as backdrop, volunteer forest guards of Brgy.
Imparayan pose for a class picture after completing their
Para-legal advance course. JO M. CLEMENTE PHOTO
Sibalom, Antique -- It could be way past the celebration of International Biodiversity Day (May 22) but for some 40 men and women who have just completed their advance paralegal training course here, every day is biodiversity day. As they are in fact volunteer forest guards who watch over the Sibalom Natural Park (SNP) and everything else inside it--like the Raflesia Speciosa, one of the world's biggest flower and the "tarictic" or the Visayan hornbill, an endangered bird. Both species are endemic or could not be found elsewhere in the world.
The billboard that ushers one to barangay Imparayan, the forest guards' village and the most accessible gateway to the park tells exactly why they have volunteered to be so-- "Saving SNP for Posterity." More than a handle to popularize their community project though, the phrase has become a mantra that these forest guards have learned to live by.
And why not? What they are guarding is a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) whose protection and preservation can contribute to the delisting of the Philippines from the roster of top priority "biodiversity hotspots" in the world.
Key Biodiversity Area
Along with Imparayan, 15 other barangays of Sibalom comprise the SNP. This natural park is located 36 kms away from Antique's capital town of San Jose. A technical report of the Full Biological Survey undertaken by Haribon Foundation on SNP says the park is important not only because it holds endangered plant and animal species but also because it provides the link between two of the country's 117 Important Bird Areas (IBA): the Pandan Peninsula in northwest Panay and the Central Panay Mountains and as such serve as a corridor for most of the species found in the two IBAs.
SNP was declared a protected area on April 23, 2000 by virtue of Presidential Proclamation 282. It covers 5,511.47 hectares. Within the natural park is the Tipulan Mau-it River Watershed forest reserve established 10 years earlier through Presidential Proclamation 906. This watershed is part of the greater Sibalom watershed area that supports about 4,800 hectares of irrigated farmlands in nearby towns as well as water supply for domestic, industrial and hydroelectric uses.
Rising 800 feet from the ground is Mt. Porras , the heart of SNP, one of two mountains within the natural park. From data provided by SNP Superintendent Russel Rizardo of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), found here are 201 species of Flora and 152 species of fauna. Among them are six bird species that are in the Red List of Endangered animals of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN). These are the Brahming Kite, Negros Bleeding Heart, Blue Naped Parrot, Grass Owl, Philippine Eagle and the Visayan Hornbill.
Here too is found one of the few remaining rainforest in the country. SNP still has 672 hectares of old growth forest (part of the remaining 3% original lowland forest in the country and part of the remaining 7% original forest cover). It has also about 2,057 hectares of secondary forest/ reforestation. Another fascinating component of the SNP is that its rivers are literally a bedrock of semi precious gemstones such as agate, jaspers and onyx.
Conservation International during its 2000 Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Priority –Setting project done with the DENR and the University of the Philippines and other environmental groups has identified the Central Panay Mountains that includes the SNP as one of the 206 key biodiversity areas (KBA) for conservation. KBAs are defined as "sites holding populations of globally threatened or geographically restricted species."
The Philippines has been identified as one of the world's biologically richest country due to its high level of species diversity and endemism. A species is considered endemic to an area if it cannot be found elsewhere in the world. But, massive deforestation, land conversion and the destruction of natural parks and protected areas crucial for the conservation of Philippine biodiversity has placed the country among the world's top priority hotspots and a cause for global concern.
The situation of birds in the country exemplifies this: The Philippines counts 535 bird species in its fold, 186 of which are endemic or can not be found elsewhere in the world. Sixty or about 50% of these endemic species are endangered. The SNP is home to some of these endangered bird species, it being part of the Negros-Panay Endemic Bird Areas (EBA) one of 7 EBAs in the country identified by Birdlife International.
Haribon ‘s Technical Report on SNP listed 100 bird species still present at the park, 30 of them are endemic and six are in the IUCN red list. For Mt Porras alone, Haribon identified 59 bird species, 24 of which are endemic while 4 are in the IUCN red list.
(To be continued)