Pasonanca Natural Park | |
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Location | Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines |
Nearest city | Zamboanga City |
Coordinates | 7°4′15.96″N122°4′31.8″E / 7.0711000°N 122.075500°E |
Area | 12,107 hectares (29,920 acres) |
Established | December 17, 1987 (Watershed forest reserve) July 5, 1999 (Natural park) |
Governing body | Department of Environment and Natural Resources |
The Pasonanca Natural Park is a protected area that preserves a major watershed in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao in the Zamboanga Peninsula. It contains the headwaters of the Tumaga River in the southern Zamboanga Cordillera mountain range that serves the water requirements of some 800,000 residents in Zamboanga City. It was named after the village of Pasonanca located in the city's northern fringes where the Pasonanca Park, a public eco-park, and the Abong-Abong Park, a pilgrimage site, can also be found.
The natural park is managed as part of the Philippines' National Integrated Protected Areas System. It was initially established in 1987 as the Pasonanca Watershed Forest Reserve encompassing an initial area of 10,560 hectares (26,100 acres) declared through Proclamation No. 199 issued by President Corazon Aquino. [1] In 1999, through Proclamation No. 132 issued by President Joseph Estrada, the park was enlarged and reclassified as a natural park. [2] It has the largest remaining block of old growth lowland dipterocarp forest in Zamboanga. [3]
On May 13, 2024, Secretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga and Mayor John M. Dalipe led the inauguration ceremony of the Pasonanca Natural Park as the 52nd of ASEAN Heritage Parks in Sitio Canucutan, District I, Barangay Pasonanca, Zamboanga City. The park is the first old-growth dipterocarp forest in the Zamboanga Peninsula. The ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, DENRA unveiled the Park's pyramid-Philippine eagle monument, since it is the national bird's-Mindanao bleeding-heart habitat and Refugia [4] [5]
The Pasonanca Natural Park covers an area of 12,107 hectares (29,920 acres) and a buffer zone of 5,307 hectares (13,110 acres) in the southern end of the Zamboanga Cordillera mountain range that runs north to south serving as the backbone for the peninsula of Zamboanga. It is contained within the local government areas of Pasonanca, Lunzuran, Lumayang Cacao, Lapacan, Lamisan, Bungiao, La Paz, Balurno and Dulian in Zamboanga City and parts of the municipality of Sibuco in Zamboanga del Norte. [1] [6] Mount Pulong Bato is a prominent peak located within the park rising to 360 metres (1,180 ft). It is crossed by Tumaga River and its tributaries which serve the bulk of the water supply for the Zamboanga City Water District through a diversion dam. [3] The park also contains several rock formations, springs and waterfalls including the Dulian Falls.
The park is composed of 60% old growth and secondary growth forests with the remaining areas devoted to agricultural lands, coconut plantations, and built up areas. [3] It has a rolling terrain with moderate to steep slopes. Facilities within the park include a clonal nursery, four outposts, an information center and a wildlife rescue center. [6] There are also a few resorts, a hotel, cottages and restaurants near the park's entrance in Pasonanca.
The park is located just 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the Zamboanga City Proper. It is easily accessible from the Zamboanga International Airport via the Pasonanca–Santa Maria Road.
The Pasonanca Natural Park provides a habitat to many threatened and restricted-range species of the Mindanao and Eastern Visayas Endemic Bird Area including the Zamboanga bulbul, Mindanao bleeding-heart, Philippine kingfisher, Philippine leafbird and little slaty flycatcher. It also supports the Philippine eagle, Mindanao broadbill, azure-breasted pitta, celestial monarch, southern silvery kingfisher, blue-capped kingfisher, spotted imperial pigeon, giant scops owl, Japanese night heron, Chinese egret, rufous-lored kingfisher, Philippine dwarf kingfisher and Philippine cockatoo. [3]
The park is home to several unique reptile species, including the endemic lizard Eutropis alcalai , known only from specimens collected within its boundaries. [7] Additionally, the park is the sole known location for the two adult specimens of the Zamboanga false gecko. [8] The holotype of Cyrtodactylus jambangan was also discovered here, with this gecko species observed to be common in the park's pristine, low-elevation gallery forests. [9] Other endemic reptiles found in the park include the Mindanao keelback [10] and the Philippine small-disked frog. [11]
The park is also home to endemic flora such as Sonerila mapelo , discovered in 2022 and is one of only three Sonerila species found in the country; [12] and at least 18 Philippine endemic trees including the white lauan, katmon, antipolo, balakat, Celtis luzonica , Hopea acuminata , and Myristica philippensis . [13]
Cyrtodactylus is a diverse genus of Asian geckos, commonly known as bent-toed geckos, bow-fingered geckos, and forest geckos. The genus has 360 described species as of 2024, which makes it the largest of all gecko genera.
Pseudogekko is a genus of rare gecko species, commonly known as false geckos. All 10 known species are found in the Philippines.
Pelophryne brevipes is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to the Philippines and found on the islands of Mindanao and Basilan. Records from elsewhere in Southeast Asia refer to Pelophryne signata or possibly other species. Common names Southeast Asian toadlet and Zamboanga flathead toad have been coined for it.
The Zamboanga bulbul is a songbird species in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is endemic to the Philippines, where its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests of Basilan and the Zamboanga Peninsula. It is becoming rare due to habitat loss.
Hombron's kingfisher or the blue-capped kingfisher is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae endemic to the Philippines and found only on Mindanao. It is one of the most colorful kingfishers in the country having a dark blue cap and wings with rufous spots, a striped rufous belly, white chin and red bill. Its natural habitats are on the upper ranges of tropical moist lowland forest and tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The wattled broadbill or Mindanao broadbill is a species of bird in the family Eurylaimidae where it was previously conspecific to the Visayan broadbill. It is endemic to the islands of Mindanao, Basilan, Dinagat and Siargao in the Philippines. It is one of the most striking birds in the country with its sky-blue wattle and bill and yellow wing patch. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forest, tropical mangrove forest, and tropical moist shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Mount Malindang is a complex volcano located in the province of Misamis Occidental in the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines. It is the highest point in the province. The least studied mountain range was formed through several volcanic activities some of which could be historical, evident by the presence of two calderas, surrounded by high rock walls, cinder cones, dome volcano plugs, two sulfurous hot springs, and a crater lake named Lake Duminagat. The amphitheater structures have extensive distribution of volcanic rocks, carbonized wood that are found in pyroclastic deposits. The mountain range is dissected by several canyons and ravines.
Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga or Jambangan in the native Subanon language, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Zamboanga Peninsula region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 977,234 people. It is the fifth-most populous and third-largest city by land area in the Philippines and also the second most populous in Mindanao after Davao City. It is the commercial and industrial center of the Zamboanga Peninsula Region.
Mount Pulong Bato (Columbato) is a monolith located in Zamboanga City at the Zamboanga Peninsula, the western tip of the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. The mountain is situated in the Upper Abong-Abong Park within the Pasonanca Natural Park, in Barangay Pasonanca, only a few kilometers away from the city's downtown section.
The Mount Timolan Protected Landscape is a protected area covering Mount Timolan and its surrounding forested landscape in the region of Zamboanga Peninsula on Mindanao in the Philippines. The park encompasses an area of 1,994.79 hectares and a buffer zone of 695.39 hectares in the municipalities of San Miguel, Guipos and Tigbao in the province of Zamboanga del Sur. It was established on 14 August 2000 through Proclamation Order No. 354 issued by President Joseph Estrada. The park was also earlier established by the provincial government of Zamboanga del Sur as a provincial park and wildlife sanctuary known as the Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Park through Provincial Ordinance No. 3 in 1992.
The Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape is a protected landscape area of forested limestone hills, grasslands and natural springs in the island province of Bohol in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. It is the largest remaining tract of natural forest in Bohol and one of the Philippines' top birdwatching sites. The park was initially gazetted a national park in 1987 covering approximately 9,023 hectares. In 2000, it was reestablished as a protected landscape under the National Integrated Protected Areas System covering its present area of 10,452.6 hectares. The park is one of the island's major tourist attractions located just south of the famous Chocolate Hills. It was named after the Bohol chieftain who entered into a blood-compact with Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi on the island in 1565.
The Aliwagwag Protected Landscape is a protected area that preserves a major drainage catchment in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao in the Davao Region. It contains the headwaters of the Cateel River in the southern Diuata Mountain Range which provides the water source and irrigation for surrounding rice fields and communities in Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental provinces. It was named after the remote rural village in the municipality of Cateel where Aliwagwag Falls, the country's highest waterfall, is located.
Gekko ernstkelleri is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines.
Timpoong and Hibok-Hibok Natural Monument is a Philippinepo natural monument located in Northern Mindanao on the island of Camiguin. It encompasses two scenic volcanoes in the Camiguin Mindanao range that span the core of Camiguin: Mount Mambajao, which includes Mount Timpoong, its highest peak, and Mount Catarman, which includes Mount Hibok-Hibok, the island's only currently active volcano. Established in 2004 through Proclamation No. 570 issued by President Gloria Arroyo, the natural monument is an important watershed containing the only remaining rainforest on Camiguin. It supports a variety of endemic flora and fauna and is also noted for its waterfalls, rivers and springs.
Cyrtodactylus mamanwa is a species of gecko endemic to the Philippines. It was identified in 2010 from a sample collected in 2007 on the Dinagat Island and named after the Mamanwa indigenous group. It is also found on Siargao and nearby islands. Adults reach a total body length of ca. 19 cm. This gecko feeds mostly on insects and spends most of its life on trees. Females lay two brittle eggs under barks of trees or inside tree cavities.
The Samar Island Natural Park, in Samar, is the largest contiguous tract of old-growth forest in the Philippines. It is the country's largest terrestrial protected area, with an area of 333,300 hectares. The buffer is spread north to south over the island's three provinces and totals 458,700 hectares, about a third of the entire island of Samar.
Cyrtodactylus sumuroi is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Samar in the Philippines.
The Christian scaly-toed gecko, also known commonly as Christian's scaly-toed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines.
Eutropis alcalai is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines.