Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The town of Bislig on the eastern coast of Mindanao is the main point of access into the vast Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines (PICOP) concession area. This logging concession covers c.182,682 ha and extends from the lowland forests inland from Bislig (which are included in this IBA) to the higher altitude forests on Mt Pasian and Mt Agtuuganon (which are included in IBA PH087). The concession includes large areas of logged lowland forest and some areas of primary lowland forest, and over 40,000 ha devoted to plantation forestry.
PICOP operates a fully integrated wood industrial complex at Bislig, the first and only one of its kind in Asia. It includes the first newsprint plant in Asia. It is a popular destination for birdwatchers, as it is one of the best places to see several scarce lowland forest birds.
The PICOP concession inland from Bislig is a popular site for birdwatchers, and there are many recent records there of the threatened and restricted-range species of the Mindanao and Eastern Visayas Endemic Bird Area. Despite the logging operations, the extensive areas of lowland forest which remain there support important populations of many threatened species, including Mindanao Brown-dove, Spotted Imperial-pigeon, Silvery Kingfisher, Rufous-lored Kingfisher, Wattled Broadbill, Azure-breasted Pitta, Philippine Leafbird, Little Slaty Flycatcher and Celestial Monarch, and possibly also Philippine Eagle. The mammalian fauna in the area is unknown.
The town of Bislig on the eastern coast of Mindanao is the main point of access into the vast Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines (PICOP) concession area. This logging concession covers c.182,682 ha and extends from the lowland forests inland from Bislig (which are included in this IBA) to the higher altitude forests on Mt Pasian and Mt Agtuuganon (which are included in IBA PH087). The concession includes large areas of logged lowland forest and some areas of primary lowland forest, and over 40,000 ha devoted to plantation forestry.
PICOP operates a fully integrated wood industrial complex at Bislig, the first and only one of its kind in Asia. It includes the first newsprint plant in Asia. It is a popular destination for birdwatchers, as it is one of the best places to see several scarce lowland forest birds.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
This IBA lies within the logging concession of PICOP Resources, Inc. There is likely to be further logging there in the future, and it is unclear how much of the old growth forest will survive in the medium to long term. Large areas of natural forest have been replaced by plantations (of Gmelina), which are of little value for birds or other plants or animals, and it was recently reported that some of the remaining forest is being cleared by settlers.
Not officially protected.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Bislig (Philippines). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/bislig-iba-philippines on 23/12/2024.
