Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape
Definition
The Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape is a protected mountain range at the southern end of Palawan, Philippines, covering over 120,000 hectares — the province’s highest peak (about 2,085 meters) and its largest watershed. The range shelters endemic Palawan species including the Palawan bearcat, cockatoos, and pitcher plants, within ancestral domains of the Pala’wan and Tagbanua peoples.
The protected landscape anchors southern Palawan’s ecology — feeding the rivers of Narra, Quezon, Sofronio Española, Brooke’s Point, and Rizal — and was established under the National Integrated Protected Areas System with indigenous co-management.
Identities
| Source Type | Identity |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | Mount Mantalingahan |
| Wikidata | N/A |
| DBpedia | N/A |
Also Known As
Mantalingahan Range; Mt Mantalingahan Protected Landscape
Examples and Analogies
Mantalingahan is Palawan’s water tower and wildlife ark: the high spine of the island province whose forests feed five municipalities’ rivers and shelter species found nowhere else.
Usage Scenarios
Researchers survey its endemic species; indigenous communities manage ancestral domain zones; climbs to the summit ridge require permits and indigenous guides through the protected landscape office.
Strategies
Management combines indigenous co-governance, forest protection rangers, biodiversity research partnerships, and watershed conservation funding benefiting the downstream municipalities.
Security and Safety Measures
Climbers register with the protected area office and indigenous councils; the range’s remoteness requires full expedition preparation; conservation enforcement covers hunting and forest clearing.
Historical Context
The range’s protection followed decades of advocacy for Palawan’s last great forest block, with the protected landscape declaration recognizing both biodiversity value and indigenous stewardship traditions.
Challenges and Controversies
Enforcement against forest clearing at the range’s edges and balancing indigenous land rights with conservation bureaucracy are the continuing themes of its management.
Related Topic
Palawan