Data Zone
Country/territory: Philippines
IBA criteria met: A1, A2, A4i (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 10,875 hectares (108.75 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2001 | not assessed | high | not assessed |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2001 baseline)
Naujan Lake lies near to the north-east coast of Mindoro, approximately 8 km from Pinagsabangan. It is a large freshwater lake probably of volcanic origin, extending for about 14 km from north to south, and 7 km from east to west. The eastern shore is precipitous, but to the west the land rises gradually and there are large areas of shallow water with an abundant growth of aquatic vegetation. There are several hot springs along the eastern shore and the maximum depth of the lake is 45 m.
The surrounding areas are covered in a mixture of forest, scrub and grassland with some orchards and coconut plantations. The MUFRC ( Multiple-use Forest Research Center) Experimental Forest lies to the south of the lake, on very steep and broken topography at 200-1,200m. It is in an old logging concession, which in 1980 was mostly covered by secondary growth of predominantly dipterocarp forest and a few patches of grassland and scrubland. However, no forest could be seen in this area in 1991 when viewed from Ilong Peak on Mt Halcon.
The main sources of livelihood of the local people are fishing and farming. The species caught include milkfish, mullet, goby, mudfish, tilapia, carp, freshwater prawns and freshwater snails. Where the marshes permit cultivation, the land has been drained, cleared and planted with rice. Important agricultural crops include citruses, coconuts, rambutans and coffee. A very profitable duck raising industry thrives in the surrounding area.
Key biodiversity
Naujan Lake supports large numbers of ducks and other waterfowl, several of which may occur in internationally important numbers. Resident species include the threatened Philippine Duck, which formerly occurred here in substantial numbers but now appears to have declined. The area surrounding the lake used to have extensive lowland dipterocarp forests, notably the MUFRC Experimental Forest, and significant populations of several of Mindoro's restricted-range endemic species, including all of the lowland specialists characteristic of the Mindoro Endemic Bird Area. However, most if not all of this forest appears to have been cleared or degraded, and these species may be locally extinct.
Non-bird biodiversity: Naujan Lake has a rich fish fauna including several protected species. The Philippine crocodile Crocodylus mindorensis, an endangered species endemic to the Philippines, formerly occurred in the area, but may now be extinct on Mindoro. The estuarine crocodile Crocodylus porosus still occurs in the restricted zone of the National Park.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lake Naujan (Philippines). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lake-naujan-iba-philippines on 22/12/2024.