Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Several substantial blocks of old growth forest are shown on recent forest cover maps in the hills to the west of Lake Lanao (PH097), near the villages of Munai and Tambo. Much of the land in this area is below 1,000 m, with the highest peak only reaching just over 1,500 m, so most of the remaining forest is likely to be lowland forest, with only small areas of montane forest around the highest peaks.
This IBA includes a proposed protected area, Mt. Inayawan, which is located within the barangays of Inayawan and Pantar in south-eastern Nunungan, adjacent to the border of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur Provinces. This proposed site cover an area of about 1,000 ha.
Several of the threatened and restricted-range species of the Mindanao and Eastern Visayas Endemic Bird Area have been recorded in or near to this IBA, during collecting expeditions near to the village of Munai at Tambo and Balintad in the 1960s. They are mainly lowland forest species, including Mindanao Bleeding-heart, Wattled Broadbill and Azure-breasted Pitta, suggesting that this was the main habitat visited. There are also areas of montane forest in the IBA, and it is likely that a wider range of threatened and restricted-range birds will be found there.
Several substantial blocks of old growth forest are shown on recent forest cover maps in the hills to the west of Lake Lanao (PH097), near the villages of Munai and Tambo. Much of the land in this area is below 1,000 m, with the highest peak only reaching just over 1,500 m, so most of the remaining forest is likely to be lowland forest, with only small areas of montane forest around the highest peaks.
This IBA includes a proposed protected area, Mt. Inayawan, which is located within the barangays of Inayawan and Pantar in south-eastern Nunungan, adjacent to the border of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur Provinces. This proposed site cover an area of about 1,000 ha.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The forests on Mt Inayawan are not under immediate pressure because there are no tenured migrants there, although the adjacent lowlands have recently been settled close to the towns and the three lakes.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
Most of the local inhabitants depend on agriculture, and many have recently been involved in establishing tree plantations. Alternative livelihoods are being developed by various government agencies and Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) to divert attention from cutting of trees. These livelihood projects included bamboo craftwork, pottery, anthurium raising, dress making and fish seeding for the fishermen settling near the lake.
Surveys are required in this IBA, to investigate both the extent and quality of the remaining habitats and the current status of the threatened and restricted-range birds and other biodiversity.
Not officially protected.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Munai / Tambo (Philippines). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/munai--tambo-iba-philippines on 23/12/2024.
