Commune with nature at Binangawan Falls.
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Camiguin may just be a small dot on the map, but the island off northern Mindanao is
on the radar of local and foreign visitors who want to enjoy what it offers—from sweet lanzones to myriad tourist attractions.
Lately, the province has added another feather on its cap when the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean), through the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), officially declared the mountains of Timpoong and Hibok-Hibok as heritage site.
The Mt. Timpoong-Hibok-Hibok Natural Monument (MTHNM), now its official name, is the third to be recognized in the region and the eighth in the country to be included in Asean Heritage Park (AHP) list in Southeast Asia.
The declaration of MTHNM would mean more projects and undertakings that will benefit the local community, said Cleofe Abian, chair of the people’s organization Campana Pamahawan ISF (integrated social forestry) Upland Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative (Capisfofamco).
ISLE OF FIRE White Island, a sandbar popular among tourists, is the perfect place to view Camiguin, where its seven volcanoes outnumber its towns.
Keepers of the forest
Since it was formed in 1996, Capisfofamco has been engaged in seedling production and planting of indigenous trees around the protected area as additional sources of income for its members, in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Abian, 57, a farmer who grows bell pepper, lettuce, watermelon, sweet corn and root crops, said residents in the villages of Baylao and Pandan within the AHP had volunteered to protect the forest from wildlife poaching and logging—activities which are illegal under the National Protected Areas System (Nipas) Act or Republic Act No. 7586.
MTHNM, which serves as a watershed for Camiguin, is home to endemic fauna, including the hawk owl, hanging parrot, yellowish bulbul, and golden yellow white eye birds, as well as the Camiguin forest mouse and rat, and the narrow-mouthed frog.
Trees found abundant in the area are “kalingag” and “duguan,” which are said to have medicinal properties, dipterocarps white “lauan” and “bagtikan,” rattan and assorted varieties of fern.
Poaching and “kaingin” (slash-and-burn) method of farming had been scarring the mountains before 2004, when MTHNM was declared a protected area by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 570, under the category of “Natural Monument.”
Nowadays, the vigilant villagers rarely catch individuals hunting or felling trees, though there are those who harvest wild honey in the forest under regulation, Abian said.
The forests of Camiguin are home to the narrow-mouthed frog
Upgrade of facilities needed
The heritage park has view decks, a butterfly garden, pavilion, an information center, cottages and trails, but Merlyn Dumalahay, the provincial environment and natural resources officer, said these facilities must be upgraded to the level of other AHPs in the region.
Among her proposals are the expansion of the butterfly garden, more view decks, repair of trekking trails and bigger parking space.
The site has less than a dozen forest rangers, including a superintendent and a maintenance foreman, to watch MTHNM premises, Dumalahay said.
She echoed Abian’s view that whoever has the intent of capturing or killing a wild animal or cutting a tree will not succeed as both the community and the DENR are working hand in hand to ensure the area’s protection. “Poachers are easily caught as our forest rangers and the volunteer forest keepers are very vigilant,” she said.
The forests of Camiguin are home to the forest mouse. PHOTO BY ASEAN CENTRE FOR BIODIVERSITY
Good for business
Speaking before local government and environment officials during the formal launching of MTHNM as an AHP in the provincial capital of Mambajao on March 16, Camiguin Rep. Xavier Jesus Romualdo said “taking care of the environment and natural resources is good for business.”
As Camiguin is endowed with natural beauty that “allows its people to live every day like they were in paradise … then it is our utmost responsibility to take care of it,” Romualdo said.
Former Camiguin governor and now Mambajao Mayor Jurdin Jesus Romualdo said more projects are being developed to ensure tourists will have a great time on the island but without compromising its beauty and natural resources.
Roberto Oliva, ACB executive director, said he was impressed by the determination of local political leaders in pushing for the inclusion of the mountains in the AHP list since 2014. “Before, only the DENR took the initiative,” he said.
During the October 2015 ministerial meeting held in Hanoi, MTHNM was bestowed the recognition. “MTHNM is enjoying its pride and honor being recognized for its uniqueness, diversity and outstanding values internationally and at the same time facing the new challenges as an Asean Heritage Park,” the ACB said.
Come Holy Week, both Filipino and foreign tourists will flock to Camiguin, many of them to participate in the “Panaad” (vow), a yearly pilgrimage where devotees hike the island’s 64-kilometer circumferential road with stops at churches and holy sites along the way.
With the heritage site declaration, there is another reason for the trip.
PHOTO BY ASEAN CENTRE FOR BIODIVERSITY
