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Site description (2001 baseline)
The UP Laguna Land Grant at Pakil lies to the east of Laguna de Bay, in eastern Laguna Province, close to the border with Quezon. The UP Laguna Land Grant at Real is c.25 km to the north, in Quezon Province. They are both owned by the University of the Philippines Los Baños. The low hills in the area are at the southern end of the Sierra Madre mountains. The two Land Grants are remnants of the lowland forests that once clothed the hills in this region, and contains mostly disturbed (selectively logged and logged over) lowland dipterocarp forest and some second growth. The Land Grants include some areas of permanent agriculture (including rice paddies), kaingin, plantations, small settlements and rural gardens. The forests are used by local people for the collection of timber and minor forest products, including for charcoal production. They are a destination for mountaineering and other forms of tourism and recreation.

Key biodiversity
Many of the threatened and restricted-range birds of the Luzon Endemic Bird Area have been recorded in the UP Laguna Land Grant at Pakil or near the adjacent villages, notably Balian. Only a few of these species have been recorded at the UP Land Grant at Real, but more of them presumably occur there. Despite their relatively small size, surveys in 1992 indicated that this IBA still supports populations of many of species of conservation concern, although only a few of the threatened species were seen. The record of the extremely poorly known Worcester's Buttonquail is of particular note.

Non-bird biodiversity: This IBA is an important stronghold for various lowland rat species, civets and fruitbats. It also supports heavily hunted large mammals, such as Philippine Warty Pig Sus philippensis and Long-tailed Macaque Macaca fascicularis. The threatened endemic Gray’s Monitor Varanus olivaceus is also known to occur in the area. Additional studies on the mammals and herpetofauna of this IBA may reveal more species of great conservation importance.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: University of the Philippines Land Grants (Pakil and Real) (Philippines). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/university-of-the-philippines-land-grants-(pakil-and-real)-iba-philippines on 22/11/2024.