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Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The island of Dinagat lies off the northeastern peninsula of Mindanao, and has a total area of 66,300 ha. Much of the island has been cleared, but several areas of closed canopy forest remain there (which in places probably extend down to sea-level), principally on the Mt Kambinlio and Mt Redondo ranges in the east of the island. The highest point on the island is below 1,000 m, and the forest is mainly lowland in type.
The major economic activities on the island are agriculture, fisheries and the collection of forest products.
Many of the threatened and restricted-range species of the Mindanao and Eastern Visayas Endemic Bird Area have been recorded on Dinagat, most of which are likely to have populations in the forests on Mt Kambinlio and Mt Redondo. The relatively large numbers of the critically endangered Philippine Cockatoo on the island are of particular note, and both Mindanao Bleeding-heart and Celestial Monarch have been found to be relatively numerous there. The restricted-range Rusty-crowned Babbler is represented on the island by the endemic subspecies S. c. capitalis.
Non-bird biodiversity: Dinagat Island has three endemic species of mammals, which is a very high number for such a small island. These are the endangered Dinagat Gymnure Podogymnura aureospinula, which is common in both primary and secondary forest there, the Dinagat Hairy-tailed Rat Batomys russatus and the Dinagat Cloud Rat Crateromys australis, which is known only from the type specimen. The endangered White-winged Flying Fox Pteropus leucopterus is also found on the island.
The island of Dinagat lies off the northeastern peninsula of Mindanao, and has a total area of 66,300 ha. Much of the island has been cleared, but several areas of closed canopy forest remain there (which in places probably extend down to sea-level), principally on the Mt Kambinlio and Mt Redondo ranges in the east of the island. The highest point on the island is below 1,000 m, and the forest is mainly lowland in type.
The major economic activities on the island are agriculture, fisheries and the collection of forest products.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The timber on Dinagat is of poor quality, but wood-cutting and encroachment into the forests for kaingin and illegal commercial logging are reported to occur there. The upgrading of a road through the centre of the island could increase the rate of encroachment in the future. There have been reports of chromite mining on a hill adjacent to Mt Kambilio.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
In 1995-1996 FPE funded a capability building program in resource management for the Dinagat Island community, conducted by the Rural Enterprise and Assistance Centre Foundation. A faunal survey was carried out by an MSU-IIT team (with sponsorship from the MacArthur Foundation) was conducted there in c.1995.
Not officially protected.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mount Kambinlio and Mount Redondo (Philippines). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mount-kambinlio-and-mount-redondo-iba-philippines on 22/11/2024.
