Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The Mt Tago range, including Mt Amaloi, lies between the Tagaloan and Pulangi Rivers, to the north-east of Mt Kitanglad (PH094) and south-west of the Mt Kaluayan Mt Kinabalian complex (PH092). The IBA includes a large block of old growth forest that is shown on recent forest cover maps. The main forest type in Mt Tago is reported to be montane mossy forest, but there may also be some area of lowland forest on the lower slopes. The Mt Tago range is the source of the Pulangi and Tagoloan Rivers, which provide water for domestic and irrigation purposes in the surrounding lowlands. The indigenous inhabitants, the Higao-non and Dumagat tribes, farm “lati” or permanent forest plots.
The Mt Tago range is ornithologically very poorly known, although there is a recent report of Philippine Eagle from nearby. It is likely that many of the threatened and restricted-range species of the Mindanao and Eastern Visayas Endemic Bird Area occur there, and the avifauna may prove to be similar to that of nearby Mt Kitanglad (PH094).
The Mt Tago range, including Mt Amaloi, lies between the Tagaloan and Pulangi Rivers, to the north-east of Mt Kitanglad (PH094) and south-west of the Mt Kaluayan Mt Kinabalian complex (PH092). The IBA includes a large block of old growth forest that is shown on recent forest cover maps. The main forest type in Mt Tago is reported to be montane mossy forest, but there may also be some area of lowland forest on the lower slopes. The Mt Tago range is the source of the Pulangi and Tagoloan Rivers, which provide water for domestic and irrigation purposes in the surrounding lowlands. The indigenous inhabitants, the Higao-non and Dumagat tribes, farm “lati” or permanent forest plots.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
There are no tenured migrants within the proposed Mt Tago Range Natural Park. The indigenous inhabitants, the Higao-non and Dumagat tribes, do not practice kaingin, and there is therefore less pressure on the forests than in many other IBAs on Mindanao, although the proposed park has cultivated areas totalling about 392 ha.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
The Philippine Eagle Foundation works with the local community for the protection of the Philippine Eagle’s forest habitat in this area. Training and workshops on institutional building and ecological awareness programs have been conducted.
Surveys are required in this IBA, to investigate both the extent and quality of the remaining habitats, and whether it supports important populations of threatened and restricted-range birds and other biodiversity.
Mt Tago has been recommended by DENR-10 for designation as a Natural Park under the NIPAS.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mount Tago Range (Philippines). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mount-tago-range-iba-philippines on 22/11/2024.
