Philippines

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The Philippines is an archipelago of more than seven thousand islands that were never continuously joined to the continent, which has produced an extraordinary degree of endemism: most of its land mammals and a huge share of its birds and reptiles exist nowhere else. Each island or group of islands works as an independent evolutionary experiment. The country is part of the Coral Triangle and its waters, among them the Tubbataha atoll, rank among the richest on the planet in marine species. Palawan, with its underground river and its forests, keeps fauna of Bornean affinity, while Mindanao and Luzon hold mountain forests with unique species. It is at once one of the richest and one of the most threatened biodiversity hotspots in the world.

The nature of Philippines

National animal: The carabao is the national animal and the Philippine eagle the national bird

Did you know?

The Philippine eagle is one of the largest and most powerful raptors in the world, with a two-metre wingspan and a crest of feathers it raises like a mane. Each pair needs thousands of hectares of forest and raises a single chick every two years, which makes its recovery painfully slow. It is the country's national bird, and killing one carries a prison sentence.

Biodiversity profile

Sudeste Asiatico (archipielago, mas de 7.000 islas)Aprox. 15,4% del territorio terrestre y solo 1,4% del territorio marino bajo 248 areas protegidas (2022); 137 de las 228 Areas Clave de Biodiversidad identificadas quedan fuera de la red nacional de areas protegidas (NIPAS)

Climate

•Tropical monzonico (Am) y de sabana (Aw), con tifones frecuentes, calido y humedo todo el año

Main biomes

•Selva tropical humeda (dipterocarpaceas)
•Bosque montano y de niebla
•Manglares costeros
•Arrecifes de coral (parte del Triangulo de Coral)
•Selva tropical insular
•Arrecife del Triángulo de Coral
•Bosque de montaña
•Karst con río subterráneo
•Manglar costero
•Lago volcánico
•Bosque sobre ultramáficas

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•Triangulo de Coral ("Amazonas de los mares"), con cerca de 600 especies de coral y 2.000 especies de peces
•Extensos manglares costeros

Flagship wildlife

•Aguila filipina (una de las aguilas mas grandes del mundo, ave nacional)
•Tarsero filipino (primate diminuto de grandes ojos)
•Búfalo pigmeo tamaraw (endemico de Mindoro)
•Cocodrilo filipino
•Tamaraw
•Carabao
•Dugongo
•Tiburón ballena
•Cálao de Rufous
•Ciervo ratón de Filipinas
•Tortuga carey

Notable endemic species

•Mas del 60% de las especies de vertebrados del pais son endemicas
•Mas de 3.000 especies de plantas endemicas de un total de 50.000+ especies vegetales
•Aguila filipina, tarsero filipino y tamaraw como especies bandera endemicas
•Mt. Makiling (Laguna) alberga mas especies de arboles que todo EEUU continental
•Águila filipina
•Tamaraw
•Tarsero filipino
•Cocodrilo filipino
•Rata nube de Luzón

Notable threatened species

•Aguila filipina (En Peligro Critico)
•Tamaraw o bufalo pigmeo de Mindoro (En Peligro Critico, poblacion muy reducida)
•Cocodrilo filipino (En Peligro Critico)
•Segun evaluacion IUCN 2004: 52% de vertebrados, 68% de invertebrados y 84% de plantas catalogados como altamente amenazados

Notable protected areas

•Parque Nacional Marino del Arrecife de Tubbataha (Patrimonio Mundial)
•Parque Nacional del Rio Subterraneo de Puerto Princesa (Patrimonio Mundial)
•Parque Natural del Arrecife de Tubbataha
•Monte Apo
•Parque Natural de la Sierra Madre del Norte
•Monte Iglit-Baco
•Isla de Apo

Main conservation threats

•Seleccion historicamente mas politica que cientifica de las areas protegidas, dejando fuera gran parte de las zonas de mayor biodiversidad
•Tala ilegal, agricultura migratoria y mineria en zonas de alto valor de conservacion (ej. cordillera de Victoria-Anepahan)
•Perdida de habitat y sobreexplotacion como principales motores de declive de especies

Notable natural phenomena

•Tifones tropicales frecuentes que remodelan periodicamente los ecosistemas costeros e insulares

Conservation

The tamaraw, a dwarf buffalo found only on Mindoro, was reduced to little more than a hundred animals and is recovering very slowly. Deforestation cut the country's forest cover from more than two thirds to a minimal fraction during the twentieth century.

Where and when to watch wildlife

Tubbataha between March and June for reefs and sharks. Bohol year-round for tarsiers in sanctuaries. The Sierra Madre and Mindanao for the Philippine eagle with local guides.

Sources: news.mongabay.com - Philippines unprotected hotspots | ScienceDirect - Drivers of extinction risks Philippine hotspot | UNDP - Building Back Biodiversity Philippines | fpe.ph - Hub of Life Philippines

Rainforest Mountain Ocean

Parks and reserves

Nature Park

Arrecifes de Tubbataha

A virtually pristine atoll at the centre of the Coral Triangle, with the greatest reef biomass in the Philippines.

View park National Park

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River

One of the longest navigable underground rivers in the world, with a stretch that flows straight out to sea inside a cave

View park World Heritage Site (Natural)

Santuario de Fauna del Monte Hamiguitan

A centuries-old dwarf forest on ultramafic soil, with trees a metre and a half tall, in Mindanao.

View park Marine Nature Park

Tubbataha

An isolated coral reef in the open sea, reachable by boat for only a few months a year

View park National Park

Bataan

Montane forest on the Bataan peninsula, setting for one of the harshest episodes of the Pacific War.

View park Nature Park

Monte Apo

The highest mountain in the Philippines, a Mindanao volcano with one of the greatest floral diversities in the country.

View park Nature Park

Monte Kanlaon

The most active volcano in the central Philippines, on the island of Negros, with frequent eruptions and montane forest.

View park National Park

Monte Pulag

The roof of Luzon, with dwarf bamboo grasslands above the sea of clouds and Cordillera pine forests.

View park Nature Park

Montes Iglit-Baco

The last refuge of the tamaraw, the dwarf buffalo endemic to Mindoro, down to a few hundred animals.

View park Nature Park

Sierra Madre Septentrional

The largest protected area in the Philippines, holding the archipelago's last great expanse of lowland rainforest.

View park

Diving and snorkelling

Reef/Wall

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park

An atoll in the middle of the Sulu Sea, made up of the North and South reefs plus Jessie Beazley Reef. It is an exceptional example of an all but intact atoll reef, with a vertical wall of some 100 m, extensive lagoons and two coral islands. The landmark sites are Amos Rock, a seamount with hammerheads and eagle rays, Black Rock, the North atoll wall and the manta cleaning stations of the South atoll.

View dive site Reef/Reserve

Apo Island

A pioneering community marine sanctuary in Asia, with a resident population of green turtles.

View dive site Reef/Wall

Apo Reef Natural Park

The second largest contiguous coral reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef; remote and pristine.

View dive site Reef/Wall

Moalboal (Sardine Run)

The sardine shoal lies a few metres from the shore, which turns one of the most spectacular fish aggregations in the world into a dive — or even a snorkel — accessible from the beach. Pescador Island, opposite, is a marine reserve with tunnels, caverns and swim-throughs.

View dive site Macro photography/Reef

Anilao

Regarded as the cradle of Philippine diving and one of the best destinations in the world for macro photography. It is known as the nudibranch capital of the world. It combines muck diving with exposed corner sites in strong current.

View dive site Wreck

Coron Bay (wrecks)

On 24 September 1944 the third air group of the American Task Force 38 located a Japanese support fleet that had hidden among the islands of the bay. Twenty-four Helldiver dive bombers, escorted by ninety-six Hellcat fighters, destroyed it in a matter of minutes. Resting there today are, among others, the Akitsushima, the Okikawa Maru, the Irako, the Kogyo Maru, the Olympia Maru, the Taiei Maru, the Kyokuzan Maru, the Terukaze Maru and the gunboat Lusong. The range runs from the gunboat Lusong, which breaks the surface and serves for snorkelling, to the Irako, the deepest recreational wreck, lying at around 43 m.

View dive site Reef/Wreck