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MANILA, Philippines — Recent monitoring works in the thick forests surrounding Mt. Apo have turned up encouraging signs of a flourishing ecosystem, with sightings of both the mythical and the more familiar.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Soccsksargen documented encounters with the elusive Philippine Trogon (Harpactes ardens) bird species associated with the fictional “Ibon Adarna” and two different species of squirrels in the Mount Apo Natural Park (MANP) during their biodiversity team’s week-long monitoring activity in late April.
The monitoring team saw four different Philippine trogons — the second time that the bird with plumage akin to the colorful “Ibong Adarna” in Filipino mythology has been spotted in the forests around Mt. Apo since its discovery in 2023.
The Philippine trogon is classified as a species of least concern under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but authorities have been careful to conserve the bird species as it “holds immense cultural and ecological significance within the Mt. Apo Natural Park (MANP) and throughout the region,” according to the DENR Region XII.
“The Obo Monuvu people, custodians of Mt. Apo’s ancestral lands, have long revered the bird species as a symbol of their connection to the environment,” the DENR Region XII said in a press release.
The Philippine trogon is also the sole species of trogon endemic to the Philippines. Its “sensitivity to habitat disturbances and environmental changes makes it a valuable bioindicator species,” the DENR added.
Meanwhile, DENR’s biodiversity monitoring team also recorded its first-ever sighting of the Mindanao Tree Squirrel (Sundasciurus mindanensis) in the forests surrounding the country’s highest peak during their week-long activity.
The DENR also documented its second sighting of the Philippine Pygmy Squirrel (Exilisciurus concinnus).
Both squirrel species are classified as a least concerned species by the IUCIN.
The DENR said that these recent sightings of endemic species are positive indicators of the overall health of Mt. Apo’s surrounding forests, which have recently been closed off to the public in response to the ongoing El Niño phenomenon.
The department said that the presence of the Philippine Trogon “serves as an indicator of overall ecosystem health,” while the squirrel species’ presence “suggests that the forest ecosystems of MANP have appropriate habitats and active ecological processes.”
“Their existence indicates that the natural park can sustain a variety of wildlife populations and points to useful conservation management practices in the area,” DENR said.
Forests in the Philippines have been shrinking at an alarming rate despite the government’s log bans due to overexploitation, deforestation, and forest/land conversion.
A 2021 report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) found that the country’s forest cover had shrunk from 10.6 million hectares before Martial Law in 1972 to 6.4 million hectares after the 1986 People Power Revolution. Since then, the country’s forest cover has stagnated at just under 7 million hectares on average.
Data spanning 12 years from the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority’s satellite survey revealed that over half of all provinces experienced a total loss exceeding 154,000 hectares, according to the PCIJ report. This is equivalent to at least 12 cities the size of Quezon City.
Forest loss and damage are the cause of 10% of global warming, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
— Cristina Chi
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Credit belongs to: www.philstar.com
