Princesa Subterranean River National Park Research Articles

Palawan Peacock Pheasant (Polyplectron Napoleonis) Species Distribution Modeling: A Review of the Impact of Typhoon Rai/Odette on the Diversity and Distribution of an Endemic Bird Species

This study quantified the habitat requirements and, consequently, described the remaining suitable habitats through species distribution modeling of Polyplectron napoleonis within Cleopatra’s Needle Forest Reserve and Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park after the onslaught of Typhoon Odette in the Palawan region. This was accomplished using MaxEnt software, a statistical machine-learning algorithm that creates niche models with presence-only (PO) data and surrounding environmental variables (Dudik et al., 2007; Merow et al., 2013). Previous studies have identified precipitation, elevation, and land cover as the top environmental variables influencing tandikan habitat suitability, as revealed by their percent contributions. There were earlier claims of the noticeable movement of habitat-suitable areas to the fringes and beyond Cleopatra's Needle Forest Reserve. The migration seems to be going towards highland forests. Two factors could be behind this migration: the tandikan are responding to climate change or avoiding human disturbance. As this species is known to have a high tolerance for temperature change, the latter could be the more plausible factor. For 2022, post-Odette, MaxEnt analysis revealed a shift of percent contributions with elevation and land cover classification outranking aspect and slope. Environmental layers were limited to four, as these were the only currently available data. This shift in percent contributions could be linked to the direct damage to forests brought by the Typhoon in December of 2021. The land cover map generated for this year has shown large areas of forests that were converted into non-forests. Conservation efforts, therefore, for the tandikan, a forest species, should be recalibrated in response to this current development. Further, measures to mitigate the impact of solid typhoons on forests should be reviewed and evaluated.

Estimating tourism losses due to COVID-19 Pandemic: The case of Puerto Princesa underground river, Philippines

This study estimated the economic losses of Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The PPUR in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines is part of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP) and is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The lost tourist arrivals caused declining PPUR revenues, affected the local economy, and posed a potential threat to PPSRNP’s environment. The Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) was used to estimate the revenue and tourist arrivals while the Simple Exponential Smoothing (SES) was used to estimate PPUR expenses. The results revealed that the PPUR lost Php 172,997,905.00 which was attributed to the foregone 281,441 international tourists and 335,687 domestic tourists from 2020-2021. The PPUR management could expect Php 2,230.56 as revenue per potential tourists, an increase in revenue of roughly Php 96.7 million, an increase in international tourist arrivals, and a decrease in domestic tourist arrivals from 2022-2024 had there been no pandemic. Thus, PPUR management should forge active collaboration with different stakeholders for sustainable operation in times of economic disaster.

MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION PROGRAM AT PUERTO PRINCESA SUBTERRANEAN RIVER NATIONAL PARK: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP)-Marine Turtle Conservation Program (MTCP) can be found in West Coast of Palawan Philippines. Geographical location is located in the global center of marine biodiversity, the Coral Triangle. This study described the profile of PPSNRP-MTCP in terms of location, species of marine turtles, number of hatchlings released per year, management organizational structure, conservation activities and, determined the perceived management challenges and opportunities encountered by employees during COVID 19 pandemic. Documentary analysis, net-notgraphy and focal group virtual discussion and structured questionnaires were used in data gathering. There are 3 species that were recorded in the conservation site; Chelonia mydas, Eretmochelys imbricata and Lepidochelys olivacea. Hatchling success from 2015 to 2021 is at an average of 82%, and the mean hatchlings per year is 1659.4 (+/- sd.699.31). Lowest was 697 in 2014-2015, highest in 2019-2020 with 2,476 hatchlings. MTCP is under the supervision of Protected Area Superintendent (PASu). The management activities are; regular monitoring of egg nesting and hatching of the eggs, implementation of easement zone, community coastal clean-up, releasing of hatchlings and conservation awareness campaign. Debris left by typhoon Odette is the perceived very high challenge while the absence of noise during nesting season is perceived at a very high opportunity.

Comparison of Agathis philippinensis resin tapping and collection practices in three selected sites in the Philippines

Abstract. Daracan VC, Mendoza RC, Torres AM, Jara AA, Manalo RD, Batallones CHR, Razal RA. 2020. Comparison of Agathis philippinensis resin tapping and collection practices in three selected sites in the Philippines. Biodiversitas 21: 5595-5604. This study documented and compared almaciga (Agathis philippinensis Warb.) resin tapping and collection practices in three sites namely Mt. Hamiguitan, Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental; Mt. Mantalingahan, Brooke’s Point, southern Palawan; and Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Marufinas, central Palawan. Resin tappers, mostly male belonging to a local organization, were interviewed, and tapping sites were visited. Tapping and collecting A. philippinensis resin is one of the supplemental income sources of the respondents from the three sites. Market influences, and how tappers learned the trade could partly explain the similarities and differences in tapping practices. Discrepancies in selecting trees to be tapped, tools used, type of incisions made on the bark, and how resin was harvested were noted. Differences in resin appearance across sites were observed, and the existence of uncollected and wasted resins clinging to trees or sprawling at its base was found in all sites. Removing dirt from the portion of the stem to be tapped, covering the bark incision with plastic for protection, and contriving handmade resin baskets from plant parts available in the site were some practices found to be worth replicating. On the other hand, there were damaged or dying trees due to the intensity of tapping, the lack of tapping skills, and limited attention given to the health of trees. There is a need for strengthening tappers’ organizations for increased bargaining power to secure better resin price and policy support to prioritize indigenous peoples in tapping into their ancestral domain. Tappers can benefit from cross-visits and other learning opportunities for sharing lessons and experiences to improve tapping practices for better resin quality and higher prices.

New species of caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) from emergence traps at streams in central Palawan, Philippines

New species of Trichoptera were identified in samples collected from emergence traps along two streams (Cabayugan River and Panaguman River) at Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Palawan, Philippines in 2000–2001. The species are described as: Orthotrichia ligula sp. n., Chrysotrichia minutula sp. n., Chimarra ligula sp. n., Pahamunaya panagumani sp. n., Tinodes sanctipauli sp. n., Ecnomus cabayugani sp. n., E. tagbanwae sp. n., Hyalopsyche palawanensis sp. n., Pseudoneureclipsis extensata sp. n., Helicopsyche forcipula sp. n., Anisocentropus palawanensis sp. n., Leptocerus palaservius sp. n., Leptocerus membranellus sp. n., Tagalopsyche brunneoides sp. n. and Oecetis ausani sp. n. All male genitalia are illustrated, supplemented by the female genitalia for some species. The illustrations of the male genitalia of an unnamed species of Triplectides Kolenati, 1859 (Leptoceridae) are provided. The relationship of the new species to congeners is briefly discussed. The subfamilies Hyalopsychinae (Dipseudopsidae), represented by two species, and Pseudoneureclipsinae (Dipseudopsidae), represented by one species, are recorded from Palawan for the first time. The genus Pahamunyana Schmid, 1958 (Poycentropodidae) is a new country record.urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9718C49C-29A0-42EF-9CC3-6D1C942B1B19

Plasmodium knowlesi and other malaria parasites in long-tailed macaques from the Philippines

BackgroundMacaca fascicularis (long-tailed macaque) is the most widespread species of macaque in Southeast Asia and the only species of monkey found naturally in the Philippines. The species is the natural host for the zoonotic malaria species, Plasmodium knowlesi and Plasmodium cynomolgi and for the potentially zoonotic species, Plasmodium inui. Moreover, other Plasmodium species such as Plasmodium coatneyi and Plasmodium fieldi are also natural parasites of M. fascicularis. The aims of this study were to identify and determine the prevalence of Plasmodium species infecting wild and captive long-tailed macaques from the Philippines.MethodsA total of 95 blood samples from long-tailed macaques in the Philippines were collected from three locations; 30 were from captive macaques at the National Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (NWRRC) in Luzon, 25 were from captive macaques at the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (PWRCC) in Palawan and 40 were from wild macaques from Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP) in Palawan. The Plasmodium spp. infecting the macaques were identified using nested PCR assays on DNA extracted from these blood samples.ResultsAll 40 of the wild macaques from PPSRNP in Palawan and 5 of 25 captive macaques from PWRCC in Palawan were Plasmodium-positive; while none of the 30 captive macaques from the NWRRC in Luzon had any malaria parasites. Overall, P. inui was the most prevalent malaria parasite (44.2%), followed by P. fieldi (41.1%), P. cynomolgi (23.2%), P. coatneyi (21.1%), and P. knowlesi (19%). Mixed species infections were also observed in 39 of the 45 Plasmodium-positive macaques. There was a significant difference in the prevalence of P. knowlesi among the troops of wild macaques from PPSRNP.ConclusionWild long-tailed macaques from the island of Palawan, the Philippines are infected with P. knowlesi, P. inui, P. coatneyi, P. fieldi and P. cynomolgi. The prevalence of these Plasmodium spp. varied among the sites of collection and among troops of wild macaques at one site. The presence of these simian Plasmodium parasites, especially P. knowlesi and P. cynomolgi in the long-tailed macaques in Palawan presents risks for zoonotic transmission in the area.

Nuisance behaviors of macaques in Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Palawan, Philippines

Different nuisance behaviors of macaques have been reported in different parts of the world where humans and macaques have been living in the same habitats and sharing the same resources. In this study, nuisance behaviors of Long-tailed Macaques were documented in Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park using direct observation, survey questionnaire and by visiting the complaint section database. The attitudes and practices of the locals towards the macaques were also investigated. From the result of the study, it was observed that the most common nuisance behavior of macaques in Central Park Station was littering, while according to the locals, eating of crops was the most common nuisance behavior. There was no existing tourist complaint about the macaques in the area, however, park personnel reported that aggressive tourist-macaque encounters sometimes happened. These nuisance behaviors were observed to be linked to food security of the animals which results in negative interaction. Meanwhile, it was also observed that the practices of most people towards macaques in the area are still relatively positive despite the nuisance behaviors of the macaques. Only a small percentage of respondents hunted macaques, experienced keeping macaques as pets or experienced eating macaque meat. The direct observations revealed that the degree of human-macaque interaction in the park was relatively mild compared to the reports in other countries, partly because of the positive human attitudes towards the animals and the effective management practices in the area.

MANGROVE PADDLE-BOAT ECOTOURISM: CONSERVING CENTURY-OLD GROWTH FOREST AT CABAYUGAN, PUERTO PRINCESA CITY

Community-based ecotourism (CBET) has emerged as a popular tool for biodiversity conservation. The Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour (MPBT), a CBET located in the village of Sabang, Cabayugan, Puerto Princesa City, is a strategy to protect and conserve the century-old mangrove forest along the Cabayugan River, which is part of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP) reservation.

First myxomycete survey in the limestone forest of Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Palawan, Philippines

First myxomycete survey in the limestone forest of Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Palawan, Philippines

필리핀 습지의 특성, 위협 및 관리

The Philippines is a naturally water-rich archipelago capable of sustaining its ecological goods and providing services and needs of its people. Several waterbodies have been declared as natural wetlands in the country supporting the needs of community like water and food. In this study, 65 natural wetlands were considered including six sites that were identified as ‘Wetlands of International Importance’ such as Naujan Lake National Park, Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, Las Pinas-Paranaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area and Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. There are 22 wetland types presented in this research categorizing the Philippine wetlands. Philippine wetlands are now facing tremendous challenges such as land use conversion, abuse of resources, pollution coming from domestic, industrial and agricultural activities, and climate change. This paper provides an overview of Philippine wetlands in terms of their characteristics and components, impacts in the ecosystem, and the challenges they are dealing with. Moreover, the preservation measures that the government and private agencies implements to these wetlands were discussed and assessed. The enforcement of local and national laws concerning wetlands is found to be inadequate resulting in poor quality wetlands. The preservation and utilization of these wetlands can be maximized with a voluntary participation of whole Philippine community.

Three new species of Begonia endemic to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Palawan

Background Begonia is a mega-diverse genus of flowering plants prone to generating micro-endemic species, especially on limestone habitats. During fieldwork in the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Palawan (Philippines), three species were encountered which did not match any previously described from the region.ResultsFollowing morphological, anatomical, molecular phylogenetic and cytological investigation a hypothesis of three new species is supported. The three new species belong to a clade endemic to Palawan and Borneo.ConclusionsThe limestone habitats in the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park environs support a unique flora. The description of three new species from a small area within the park demonstrates how much remains to be discovered there, and the importance of its continued protection.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40529-015-0099-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Violent enclosures, violated livelihoods: environmental and military territoriality in a Philippine frontier

The political geography of environmental governance can overlap and converge with uneven agrarian change in forest frontiers subject to violent enclosures. When the governance of conservation territories converges with and reinforces enclosures, spaces can be controlled with authority and violence that places livelihoods at greater risk in the context of uneven agrarian political economies – the outcomes of which reflect ‘violent enclosures’. This paper examines how indigenous resource users negotiate the discursive and material impact of environmental governance converging with militarized-insurgent spaces as overlapping enclosures in a protected area on Palawan Island, the Philippines. Drawing on local experiences, we examine how the livelihood vulnerability arising in the local political economy is exacerbated by access and use constraints from the overlapping enclosures of environmental and military governance in the buffer zone of Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. We argue that the seemingly less governable forest frontiers of protected areas are often the poorest, highly politicized and contested spaces of political and ecological refuge. Here, scarce forest resources are managed closely, and recalcitrant groups seek refuge as military powers frame, conflate and manage local behaviour as criminal and dangerous, merging conservation and military interventions as coercive governance. We conclude that only by critically engaging how governance processes and enclosures converge to yield structural and discursive violence – and by making this apparent to policy makers – will indigenous peoples successfully negotiate the double bind of violent enclosures in frontiers.

Green governmentality and swidden decline on Palawan Island

Environmental governance initiatives increasingly extend to the rural Philippines as ‘devolved’ programmes that progress livelihood change, differentiation and market‐based investments. This paper examines how the origins, rise and consequences of environmental governance initiatives in Palawan Island, the Philippines, facilitate forms of governmentality that intersect with, and rearticulate through, the local political economy to influence swidden‐based livelihoods, social relations and landscape composition. Drawing on recent scholarship, I describe how the rise and substance of this governance agenda manifests spatially as a form of discursive green governmentality. I argue that this scaled, discursive process involves diverse institutions that decentre and deploy technical knowledge, values and rules in local spaces, influencing how farmers self‐govern their behaviour and use of nature toward ‘sustainability’ (Goldman 2001). I draw on a case study to show how Tagbanua swidden farmers negotiate such green governmentality by adopting new landscape ideals through anti‐swidden narratives inflected by local politics, economy and environmental change in villages around the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. I focus on how green governmentality has become systemic across scales to converge with local politics and economy, where governmental discourse is pliable, flexibly interpreted, though followed to affect the shift from long fallow to permanent cultivation. I conclude by showing that the ways government, non‐governmental and local actors communicate and invest in such discourse facilitates convergence with the local political economy, reinforcing swidden decline, livelihood risk and marginalisation.

Science-Driven Management of Protected Areas: A Philippine Case Study

The lack of scientific baseline information hinders appropriate design and management of protected areas. To illustrate the value of science to management, we consider five scenarios for the 202.0 km² Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Philippines: (1) closure to human activities, (2) and (3) two levels of increase in unplanned human activities, (4) creation of a forest corridor and (5) additional allocation of land for permanent or shifting agriculture. We then use habitat-specific bird density estimates to simulate the net effect of each scenario on 18 focal bird populations. Closure has significant benefits-populations of five species are predicted to increase by >50 % and nine by >25 %, but two secondary forest flycatchers, including the endemic and 'Vulnerable' Palawan flycatcher, decline dramatically, while the creation of a 4.0 km² forest corridor yields average increases across species of 2 ± 4 % (SD). In contrast, heavier unplanned park usage produces declines in all but a few species, while the negative effects of an extra 2.0 km² of shifting cultivation are 3-5 times higher than for a similar area of permanent agriculture and affect species whose densities are highest in primary habitats. Relatively small changes within the park, especially those associated with agricultural expansion, has serious predicted implications for local bird populations. Our models do not take into account the full complexities of bird ecology at a site, but they do provide park managers with an evidence base from which to make better decisions relating to biodiversity conservation obligations which their parks are intended to meet.

Local People's Perception on the Impacts and Importance of Ecotourism in Sabang, Palawan, Philippines

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP) was recently renowned as one of the new seven wonders of nature. The Puerto Princesa Underground River is reputed to be the longest navigable underground river in the world. This study examines the effects of ecotourism to the local community in terms of livelihood generation and influx of people. This study likewise examines the views of the local community on the impact of ecotourism and importance of natural resource to the tourism industry. This paper presents results from the systematically and randomly sampled surveyed householders and purposively selected interviewed key informants from sitio Sabang. Sabang is the location of the port where the tourists wait prior to being ferried to the Subterranean River. The result of the study revealed that undoubtedly the tourism industry in the area has been source of income for most of the householders. More establishments were recently established due to the growing number of visitors in the area. Consequently, the development of the ecotourism industry in Sabang led to the change of livelihood among local people due to higher compensation offered by the tourism industry. In addition, it had caused high influx of people because of work opportunity. The local people believed ecotourism in Sabang, Palawan is beneficial. However, environmental protection was seen least of the enumerated positive impacts against work opportunity and city development. Nevertheless, residents of Sabang have a high level of awareness and involvement in the protection of the environment. But because of too much dependence on tourism, most of the respondents became oblivious that the tourism in Subterranean River is a form of ecotourism and the environment is the key tourism resource. The concept of ecotourism is very evident from the local government and park coordinators but does not entirely transcend to all sectors in the community.

First to third nature: the rise of capitalist conservation on Palawan Island, the Philippines

The social relations and agricultural lands that rural peoples in Southeast Asia hold in common are being commodified through the converging pressures of agrarian change, conservation and capitalist development. This paper examines how broader and local processes driving agrarian differentiation have been accelerated through the revaluing of people and nature in market terms to ostensibly finance conservation through development at the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park – the flagship protected area of Palawan Island, the Philippines. Drawing on the notions of ‘first’ and ‘third nature’, I show how the pace and scale of agrarian change between rural peoples has gone ‘fast forward’ with the onset of resource partitioning, objectification, commodification and, ultimately, revaluing through translocal ‘capitalist conservation’, the rise of conservation as capitalist production. I examine how the national park's valuing as a ‘common’ World Heritage has drawn major private sector investments that objectify, commodify and rearticulate the value of nature as capital that finances and merges conservation and development according to the images and ideals of the modern Philippines. The conclusion asserts that while the processes of differentiation and capitalist conservation facilitate the revaluing of nature in market terms, the overall process remains recursive, partial and context dependent.

Population densities of understorey birds across a habitat gradient in Palawan, Philippines: implications for conservation

AbstractThere is widespread concern for many understorey and ground-dwelling bird species in the Philippines that appear intolerant of forest alteration. We present density estimates for 18 key bird species in old growth forest, advanced and early secondary growth and active cultivation within the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Palawan. Six species were not recorded in cultivation and the abundance of these and several others increased along the successional gradient from cultivation to old growth forest. Eleven species, including five endemics and three of four threatened species, had highest density estimates in old growth forest. However, several species had high density estimates in the heavily disturbed habitats and every habitat type held highest densities of at least one of the bird species. The commonest habitat association across the bird community was a preference for areas containing large trees, indicating the importance of retention of such trees in allowing suitable ground and understorey microhabitats to persist. Old growth forests have the highest conservation value for Palawan’s endemic birds and, while some species thrive in the anthropogenic habitats that occur within the Park, the present extent of cultivation and associated successional stages within its boundaries should not be increased. We caution against extrapolation of the abundance figures from the Park to the whole island but we suggest that population sizes for the threatened species are likely to be much greater than previously thought. We urge authorities to strengthen management within the protected area network in Palawan to ensure survival of key species.

Indigenous Peoples and Migrants: Social Categories, Rights, and Policies for Protected Areas in the Philippine Uplands

This article identifies four models of park management that apply where indigenous people mix with migrant settlers in developing countries: (a) coercive conservation; (b) community-based conservation; (c) ancestral domain; and (d) European-style landscape park. Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Palawan Island, the Philippines, has evolved through all four types. While legal recognition of indigenous peoples' land rights has improved their relative position vis-à-vis their migrant neighbors, it has not equalized their lack of access to political and economic resources. This deficit prevents them from capturing full benefits from the forest, and consequently undermines their capacity and incentive to conserve forest resources. We argue that indigenous peoples' property rights and access to assets must be sufficiently secure for them to actively participate in park management and share in its benefits. This leads to the conclusion that the most effective and just form of park management is a blend of community-based conservation, ancestral domain, and landscape park.

The politics of decentralizing national parks management in the Philippines

International donors and state bureaucrats in the developing world have promoted decentralization reform as the primary means to achieve equitable, efficient and sustainable natural resource management. Relatively few studies, however, consider the power interests at stake. Why do state agencies decentralize power, what political patterns unfold, and how do outcomes affect the responses of resource users? This paper explores decentralization reform by investigating the political processes behind the Philippine state's decisions to transfer authority over national parks management to local government units. Drawing on a case of devolved management at Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Palawan Island, we examine how political motives situated at different institutional scales affect the broader process of decentralization, the structure of management institutions, and overall livelihood security. We demonstrate how power struggles between the Philippine state and City Government of Palawan over the right to manage the national park have impacted the livelihood support offered by community-based conservation. We conclude that decentralization may offer empowering results when upper-level policies and political networks tie into sufficiently organized institutions at the local level.