‘Treasured island.” This aptly describes Mindoro island. It is also an apt title of a coffee-table book launched by the Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc. (MBCFI) on the 10th founding anniversary in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro, on July 13.
The treasure, as far as biodiversity conservation advocates are concerned, is the tremendous biological diversity of Mindoro Island, which is comprised of the provinces of Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro in the Southwestern Tagalog region that is composed Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan provinces, popularly known as Mimaropa.
Mindoro is a separate biogeographical region from the Philippines, which explains its good number of endemic plant and animal species that are nowhere else to be found in the world.
Newly recorded, discovered species
The celebration saw MBCFI, led by Executive Director Grace Diamante, turning over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) one newly discovered plant species, and a total of eight newly recorded species in the island.
A member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the largest and the most diverse environmental network worldwide, the MBCFI has been working hand-in-hand with the DENR and the scientific community to formulate policies in support of biodiversity conservation.
The species were discovered in some of Mindoro’s known key biodiversity areas—including the famous Mounts Iglit and Baco, the home of the Philippine tamaraw, also known as the Mindoro dwarf buffalo—in Mount Calavite, Naujan Lake National Park, a Ramsar site, and in Apo Reef National Park between 2013 and 2018 by MBCFI experts.
They were verified and published in scientific journals.
The newly discovered species, the Cynanchum malampayae, a new species of flowering plant, was named after the Malampaya Joint Venture Partners, which provides core-funding support to the foundation.
The species was discovered in 2013 on Ilin Island in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro.
Migratory birds, bats
ON the other hand, the newly recorded species include four migratory birds and four bats.
The migratory birds are the red-billed starling, recorded in March 2017 during the survey for marine and terrestrial species for the updating of biodiversity information in Apo Reef Natural Park in Occidental Mindoro; the streaked shearwater, that was recorded in February 2018 during the Asian Waterbird Census also in Apo Reef Natural Park.
The Eurasian wigeon was recorded in January 2018 during the Asian Waterbird Census in Naujan Lake National Park in Oriental Mindoro; and the garganey, recorded in January 2018 also during the Asian Waterbird Census in Naujan Lake.
The bat species include the Murina aenea that was recorded during a survey in June and July 2017 in Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park in Occidental Mindoro.
The three other bat species that were recorded during a research on Mount Calavite Wildlife Sanctuary also in Occidental Mindoro in 2013 are Myotis muricola, Kerivoula hardwickii and Hipposederus pygmaeus.
In 2015 the MBCFI revealed that it was able to record 18 new species in Mindoro, including birds, bats and snakes.
It was only recently that the MBCFI was able to verify the newly discovered plant species and eight newly recorded bird and bat species, said Kathy Lene S. Cielo, MBCFI’s Conservation Awareness Raising and Education (CARE) program manager.
“The global population of some of the newly discovered migratory birds in Mindoro is on the decline,” Cielo told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview on July 16.
It should give the Philippines more reasons to protect them and their habitats or wintering areas like the Apo Reef National Park and the Naujan Lake National Park, she added.
Priority conservation area
In a statement on July 13 during the turnover of the newly discovered and newly recorded species, Diamante said: “Mindoro Island is considered as one of the global biodiversity priority conservation areas in terms of the number of endemic species, diversity of habitation and degrees of threats to wildlife [it has].”
She said that in launching the coffee table book Treasured Island, they hope to boost the effort in raising awareness and care on Mindoro’s beauty and splendor.
“[The book] showcases a collection of photos highlighting 11 priority sites of the foundation, the biologically significant species as well as the eight Mangyan tribes on the island,” she said.
Healthy, vibrant ecosystem
Meanwhile, DENR Mimaropa Region Director Henry Adornado lauded the MBCFI in launching its newly discovered and newly recorded species in Mindoro.
“The discovery and documentation of unique wildlife species indicate the presence of a healthy and vibrant ecosystem, which also means higher ecosystem productivity in Mindoro,” Adornado told the BusinessMirror in a text message on July 16.
“While environment programs are already in place to maintain the province’s rich biological diversity, new policies may be crafted to ensure protection and conservation of these species and their habitat,” he added.
He said the MBCFI works closely with the DENR’s field office in Mindoro, which include the Provincial Environment and Natural Resource Office, Community Environment and Natural Resource Office, Protected Area Superintendents to survey forestlands and uncover new elements of biodiversity.
“This collaboration provides us information that is valuable for future studies that would determine the species’ importance in Mindoro and to the entire country,” Adornado, a former director of the Ecosystems Research and
Development Bureau of the DENR, added.
Island endemics
Sought for reaction, DENR‘s Wildlife Resources Division chief Josefina de Leon said the discovery and recording of new species in Mindoro reaffirm the global recognition that the Philippines is a biodiversity mega-diverse country.
“It also indicates that the country still has suitable habitats for varied forms of life, and the evolution of species that can adapt to changing environmental and climatic conditions, as well as the need for continuous biological assessments,” de Leon told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview on July 15.
“It further rationalizes the need to protect the island of Mindoro and its endemic species,” she said.
She explained that island-endemic species occurs only on the particular island. “Thus, if gone, the species becomes globally extinct.”
She said that while it is easier to protect smaller islands, resource-wise, it poses a bigger challenge, especially in times of natural calamities and during the occurrence of animal diseases that could wipe out a wildlife population.