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Threatened species
PANAY Island is home to endemic but threatened species. Some of these are the Visayan writhed-hornbill (Aceros waldeni), the Visayan spotted deer (Cervus alfredi), the Visayan warty pig (Sus cebifrons), the Panay monitor lizard (Varanus mabitang), and species of the parasitic plant genus rafflesia spp. (R. lobata and R. speciosa). This is both good news and bad news. We have a rich biodiversity but these threatened species are on the brink of extinction, no thanks to deforestation courtesy of human intrusion. This should amplify the need to protect what remains of our forests in general, and in particular the Sibalom Natural Park in Antique and the large contiguous forest of the Central Panay Mountain Range. The endemic but threatened species could be found there.
The current rate of deforestation could wipe out our country’s forest covers in just a few years. With 1,900 hectares being deforested daily across the Philippines, the remaining forest cover as of 2006 was down to 8,000 square kilometers (km) from 270,000 square km at the turn of the century. Based on data from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the total forest area of the Philippines has been reduced to 6.7 million hectares as of 1990 from 30 million hectares in 1930. In 1996, only around 2.1 million hectares of original vegetation were remaining.
Preserving the country’s fast-dwindling forests and protected areas becomes even more urgent to lessen the devastating effects of landslides during typhoons. If the Sibalom Natural Park and the Central Panay Mountain Range disappear, gone too, are the rare Visayan writhed-hornbill, Visayan spotted deer, Visayan warty pig, Panay monitor lizard, and rafflesia.
Just this May 27, the Antique Mountain Bikers Association, Inc. held its 4th Autajay Aningalan Ascent bike race to raise funds for the establishment of a biodiversity corridor bridging the isolated forest of the Sibalom Natural Park and the Central Panay Mountain Range. Sadly, the important activity was eclipsed by other news such as the Maute group’s siege of Marawi City and the subsequent declaration of martial law in the whole Mindanao.
Discontinuity of the forest cover has a negative impact on biodiversity as it isolates populations of animal and vegetal species and so jeopardizes their viability. Hence, establishing a corridor is key for the conservation of the species of the Central Panay Mountain Range. It is hoped that Antique’s endeavor to save its forests and endemic but threatened species will succeed.
The protection of the forests of Panay Island is important. They provide the people’s life support system, fresh water and air, medicinal plants, and other non-timber forest products, crucial for the livelihood of upland dwellers and indigenous people.
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