Protection and management requirements
The property straddles two municipalities and one city: San Isidro Municipality, Governor Generoso Municipality and the City of Mati, in the Province of Davao Oriental, and totals an area of 16,923 ha with a buffer zone of 9,729 ha. The Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary is protected through several protected area regulations and is a component of the Philippines’ National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS). Several layers of national and provincial legislation and policies serve to protect the property and guide management. Apart from delineating the boundaries of the property, these laws prohibit incompatible activities such as logging, mining, exploration or surveying for energy resources inside the property. Responsibility for enforcement is shared by both the national and local government agencies in partnership with other stakeholders.
The protection of the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary is further strengthened by the engagement with and involvement of local and indigenous communities living in its periphery in the management of the property. Their lifestyles and spiritual beliefs are based on respect for the environment and its biodiversity and they have, over time, subtly molded their way of life to ensure the sustainable use of their resources. At the same time, the harsh conditions of the mountain range serve as a deterrent for other human settlements that do not conform to a similarly symbiotic lifestyle. Threats in and around the property include illegal collection of wildlife, mining, development pressures, potential pressures and impacts from tourism and climate change. Management authorities have implemented a monitoring and research programme to anticipate climate change effects on the biota and try to mitigate consequent impacts. Ongoing monitoring will be needed to predict and respond to such impacts.
The Mount Hamiguitan Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) overses protection and management of the property according to the approved Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary Management Plan of 2011. The Protected Area Superintendents Office (PASO) implements the activities set down in the plan as well as the policies and directives issued by the PAMB. Together with the “Bantay Gubat” personnel from the three municipalities with territorial jurisdiction over the nominated property, the PASO conducts regular monitoring and patrol activities over the core and buffer zones. A five year visitor and tourism management plan is in place to ensure the effective management of use, and should be kept updated. The municipalities overlapping the property have aligned their tourism and development plans to the Management Plan of the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, helping to ensure that the importance of protection of the property will be given the necessary recognition and consideration and that development will not hamper or detract from the conservation and protection of the biodiversity of the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary.
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