This EBA includes the Philippine island of Palawan, the Calamian group in the north, Balabac in the south, and various other smaller offshore islands. These islands constitute the easternmost extension of the Asian continental (Sunda) shelf, and thus some of their more widespread fauna and flora are shared with the island of Borneo to which they were once connected. Because this EBA forms a link between Mindoro (EBA 150) and Borneo, it is an important route for avian migration.

The vegetation on Palawan is one of the most diverse of any island within the Philippines and includes tropical lowland evergreen rain forest, lowland semi-deciduous (seasonal/monsoon) forest, montane forest at 800-1,500 m, and forests over limestone in the south (WWF/IUCN 1994-1995).

All the restricted-range species occur in forest, mostly in the lowlands. All species occur on Palawan and four are confined to this island alone. Stachyris hypogrammica has a very limited distribution, only being recorded from the Mantalingajan range above 1,000 m (Dickinson et al. 1991).

Palawan is the most forested island in the Philippines with satellite data from 1988 showing 54% of land forested (Dickinson et al. 1991). However, forest is steadily giving way to logging, mining and agriculture owing to immigration of people from other more crowded parts of the country (Quinnell and Balmford 1988, Collins et al. 1991). Consequently some of the restricted-range species, mostly lowland birds which do not appear to tolerate degraded forest or secondary habitats, are classified as threatened. Three widespread threatened birds-Philippine Hawk-eagle Spizaetus philippensis (Vulnerable), Philippine Cockatoo Cacatua haematuropygia (Critical) and Blue-naped Parrot Tanygnathus lucionensis (Endangered)-also occur on Palawan, which is a stronghold for these species.

The entire province of Palawan has been declared a Fauna and Flora Watershed Reserve, and, within this, there are other kinds of protected areas including the St Paul Subterranean National Park (which is important for threatened species including Polyplectron emphanum) and the El Nido area (which has been proposed for protection under the Integrated Protected Areas System). Ursula Island (17 ha), 20 km south-east of the southern tip of Palawan is an important roosting and nesting site for pigeons including Ducula pickeringii and the widespread Nicobar Pigeon Caloenas nicobarica (Near Threatened). It was established as a bird sanctuary in 1960, but there has been a significant decline in the numbers of roosting pigeons, from an estimated 150,000 to a few thousand birds over the last 60 years, perhaps owing to the effects of introduced species and human disturbance (Gonzalez 1996).

A survey of Palawan concluded that a network of protected areas would not be sufficient to prevent environmental deterioration, mainly because it would not receive the support of the local communities. Instead, in 1990 a network of Environmentally Critical Areas was established over the whole island; this is a graded system of protected management, varying from strict control in certain areas to buffer areas where regulated use is allowed (Castañeda 1993).

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Endemic Bird Area factsheet: Palawan. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/eba/factsheet/154 on 22/11/2024.