Polillo Conservation Data

Spatial Profile of Local Conservation Areas in the Municipality of Panukulan
Polillo Islands, Quezon Province, Philippines

Spatial Profile of Local Conservation Areas in the
Municipality of Panukulan, Quezon Province,
Philippines

FINAL REPORT

Jose Don T. De Alban
Polillo Islands Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc.
Lunar Apartment
Gomez Street, Poblacion
Polillo, Quezon
4340 Philippines

Pioneering Community-based Conservation Sites in the Polillo Islands Project
Polillo Islands Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc. 1
List of Figures

Figure 1. Slope classification of the Polillo Islands showing municipalities and barangays of Panukulan.

Figure 2. Soil types of the Polillo Islands showing municipalities and barangays of Panukulan.

Figure 3. Land classifications of the Polillo Islands showing municipalities and barangays of Panukulan.

Figure 4. Land cover types of the Polillo Islands showing municipalities and barangays of Panukulan.

Figure 5. Comparative abundance of major land cover / habitat types found in the Polillo archipelago
and their distribution within each municipality.

Figure 6. Tenurial instruments situated within the municipality of Panukulan.

Figure 7. Watersheds of the Polillo Islands with emphasis on the 10 largest watersheds.

Figure 8. Percentage of forest cover within each watershed found in the municipality of Panukulan.

Figure 9. The proposed Local Conservation Areas and their coverage of remaining forests in the
municipality of Panukulan.

Figure 10. Kalawakan Forest Block LCA shown over topographic features, forest cover of 2001, barangay
and watershed boundaries, river systems, tenurial arrangements, and previous biological
survey sites.

Figure 11. Kalawakan Forest Block LCA shown over land cover interpretation of 2001, barangay
boundaries, river systems, and the proposed Dumagat Ancestral Domain.

Figure 12. Kalawakan Forest Block LCA shown over soil types, forest cover of 2001, barangay and
watershed boundaries, river systems, tenurial arrangements, and previous biological survey
sites.

Figure 13. Kalawakan Forest Block LCA shown over land classification, forest cover of 2001, barangay
and watershed boundaries, river systems, tenurial arrangements, and previous biological
survey sites.

Figure 14. Panukulan Watershed Forest Reserve LCA shown over topography, barangay and watershed
boundaries, forest cover of 2001, river systems, and other proposed LCAs.

Figure 15. Panukulan Watershed Forest Reserve LCA shown over land cover interpretation of 2001,
barangay boundaries, and river systems.

Figure 16. Panukulan Watershed Forest Reserve LCA shown over land classification, forest cover of
2001, barangay and watershed boundaries, and river systems.

Figure 17. Dumagat CADT-LCA shown over topography, barangay and watershed boundaries, forest
cover of 2001, river systems, previous biological survey sites, and other proposed LCAs.

Figure 18. Dumagat CADT-LCA shown over land cover interpretation of 2001, barangay boundaries, river
systems, and other proposed LCAs.

Figure 19. Dumagat CADT-LCA shown over soil types, barangay and watershed boundaries, forest cover
of 2001, contour lines, river systems, and other proposed LCAs.

Figure 20. Dumagat CADT-LCA shown over land classification, barangay and watershed boundaries,
forest cover of 2001, river systems, and other proposed LCAs.

Figure 21. Comparative composition of land cover / habitat types within each proposed priority LCA for
Panukulan municipality.

Figure 22. Comparative distribution of forests within the municipality of Panukulan that are covered by
the proposed priority LCAs.

List of Tables

Table 1. Land area of barangays in Panukulan.

Table 2. Slope categories found in the Polillo Islands and in the municipality of Panukulan.

Table 3. Description of soil types found in the Polillo Islands.

Table 4. Land classification projects surveyed in the Polillo Islands.

Table 5. Land classifications in the Polillo Islands and in the municipality of Panukulan.

Table 6. Matrix of land cover types within the five municipalities of Polillo Islands.

Table 7. Forest area of barangays dividing the Kalawakan Forest Block LCA.

Table 8. Land cover types of each sub-LCA within the Kalawakan Forest Block.

Table 9. Slope ranges of each sub-LCA within the Kalawakan Forest Block.

Table 10. Land classification types of each sub-LCA within the Kalawakan Forest Block.

Table 11. Forest cover of watersheds within the Dumagat CADT-LCA.

Appendices

Appendix 1. Technical description of Panukulan Watershed Forest Reserve (Proc. No. 290).

Appendix 2. Percentage of forest within each watershed found in the municipality of Panukulan.

List of Acronyms

CADT - Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title
CBFM - Community-Based Forest Management
CENRO - Community Environment and Natural Resources Office
CSC - Certificate of Stewardship Contract
DAO - Department Administrative Order
DENR - Department of Environment and Natural Resources
DILG - Department of Interior and Local Government
FFI - Fauna and Flora International
FMB - Forest Management Bureau
EO - Executive Order
GIS - Geographic Information System
GPS - Global Positioning System
ISF - Integrated Social Forestry
LCA - Local Conservation Area
LGU - Local Government Unit
LOI - Letter of Instruction
NAMRIA - National Mapping and Resource Information Authority
NIPAS - National Integrated Protected Areas System
NCIP - National Commission on Indigenous Peoples
PAWB - Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau
PD - Presidential Decree
PENRO - Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office
PESP - Polillo Ecology Stewardship Project
PIBCFI - Polillo Islands Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Incorporated
PRA - Participatory Rapid Appraisal
RA - Republic Act
RENRO - Regional Environment and Natural Resources Office
UPLB - University of the Philippines Los Baos

Introduction

The Polillo archipelago in the Philippines harbours an amazingly rich biological diversity. It is home to a
number of unique species that can only be found in the islands and nowhere else in the world such as
the Blue Naped Parrot (Tanygnathus lucionensis hybridus), Philippine Trogon (Harpectes ardens minor),
Tarictic Hornbill (Penelopides manillae subnigra), Polillo forest frog (Platymantis polilloensis), and
Polillo green-scaled gecko (Pseudogecko smaragdinus). Other unique species that may be seen in the
Polillos but are also found elsewhere in the Philippines are Grays monitor lizard (Varanus olivaceus),
Philippine Cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia), Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindoroensis),
Philippine pig (Sus philippinensis), and Philippine brown deer (Cervus philippinensis), among others.

However, this immense natural wealth is highly threatened to extinction by intense anthropogenic
activities that have been going on since the last century. Large-scale logging and mining in the Polillo
Islands between the 1950s until the 1990s have led to deforestation and rapid loss of habitats. Forest
cover has been reduced to merely 19% of the land area of the islands as of 2001. Although large-scale
threats to Polillos biodiversity have ceased, piecemeal habitat loss continues to this day through
conversion into agricultural lands and timber poaching. Individual species are also threatened by illegal
wildlife trade and hunting for food. This unfortunate situation led to the Polillo Islands being
considered as one of the top priority conservation areas both locally and internationally, and required
the need for immediate conservation interventions to protect and preserve the islands remaining
habitats and important wildlife.

During the last decade, several significant conservation activities were carried out in the Polillo
Islands. One such initiative was the Polillo Ecology Stewardship Project (PESP) in 1998, which was
conceived to help safeguard the threatened wildlife and habitats of the Polillo archipelago by
implementing a wardening scheme in Polillo municipality. The PESP has been operational for eight
years through the generous funding support of the North of England Zoological Society (or Chester Zoo)
and the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Programme of Fauna and Flora International (FFI).
Another key initiative was done in 1999 and 2001 through the joint biological research expeditions
conducted by Oxford University in the United Kingdom and the University of the Philippines Los Baos
(UPLB), and several other academic and research institutions. The expeditions identified several
priority conservation sites throughout the Polillo Islands by carrying out faunal inventories and forest
habitats surveys.

These initiatives steadily grew into a key environmental base in the Polillo Islands, and eventually
became the Polillo Islands Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc. (PIBCFI), which was established as
an organization in 2003, in order to better address the pressing key conservation issues in the islands.
In 2005, through the financial support of the Darwin Initiative, PIBCFI started implementing the project
entitled Pioneering Community-Based Conservation Sites in the Polillo Islands. The project seeks to
conserve Polillo Islands unique biodiversity by establishing a network of protected sites, or Local
Conservation Areas (LCA), through the active participation and support of its Local Government Units
and communities. To accomplish this, several key components will be implemented including research,
site establishment, management planning, forest habitat restoration, capacity building of local
stakeholders, and information/education/communication campaigns. The project will also use the
Local Government Code as the framework for establishing and managing the LCAs.

The research component of the current Darwin project includes gathering baseline information leading
to the prioritization, management planning, and establishment of Local Conservation Areas. The spatial
profiles, which are part of the outputs of this component, aims to provide an assessment regarding the
extent and distribution of remaining habitats in the Polillo Islands and its municipalities, and identify
and prioritize among LCAs based on their geographic attributes in relation to their biological
significance. The analyses will also aid in the creation of a rough and initial boundary delineation of the
LCAs. This report mainly covers the municipality of Panukulan of the Polillo Island Group in Quezon
Province, and presents a preliminary overview of the biophysical characteristics of the entire Polillo
archipelago, which is in fact the consolidation of different spatial information available regarding the
Polillo Islands for the very first time.

Methodology

Secondary Data Gathering
Available secondary data pertaining to the physical and land use aspect were obtained including
topography, climate, soil types, land cover, land classification, tenurial instruments, and
administrative boundaries. Hardcopy maps and tabular coordinate data were procured, scanned, and
converted to data formats for incorporation in a GIS. Relevant policies and local land use plans were
requested from the concerned government agencies for review and integration in this assessment.

Community Resource Mapping
Resource mapping was conducted primarily to obtain information on the land cover status of the area
and current resource uses and patterns of the different communities in and around the proposed LCAs.
The mapping activity is part of the key tools of the Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA) and was
conducted in the communities covered by the proposed LCAs. Key participants from the different
barangays were selected to join the resource mapping. The process began by listing down important
features and major landmarks in order to create a legend. The sketching of the resource map was done
on manila paper with dimensions approximately 2.5 m. x 1.5 meters. The orientation of the map was
established by drawing main features such as major roads, shorelines, and river systems first. Pencils
were used initially for drawing to allow for revisions prior to finalization by colored permanent marker
pens. The final map was drawn on a plastic sheet overlaid on the manila paper. Acetone was applied to
erase mistakes drawn by permanent ink on the plastic sheet. Labels were reflected particularly for
localities, rivers, and mountains. The final resource map was displayed for the duration the PRA
workshop for validation with other community participants.

Image Processing and Classification
Satellite image processing was implemented to derive land cover information on the Polillo Islands. The
resulting land cover map based on Landsat 7 ETM+ imagery acquired in July 2001 serves to complement
the existing land cover map produced by the Oxford-UPLB expedition in 2001 using participatory 3D
modeling. A minimum of 30 ground control points for each image, which were located on NAMRIA
1:50,000 topographic maps, was used for image registration to project the image on the Universal
Transverse Mercator Zone 51 North, Luzon datum. The panchromatic band (with a 15-meter spatial
resolution), available from the Landsat ETM+ sensor, was rectified prior to registering the multi-
spectral bands (with a 30-meter spatial resolution) to the higher resolution image. Allowable root-
mean-square error at less than 0.50 of an image pixel was attained for each image. Training areas, or
representative sample sites of known cover type, were collected using GARMIN
eTrex global
positioning system receivers during ground surveys conducted from August 2005 to May 2006 within
mainland Polillo. Image classification was done using supervised classification incorporating the training
data with some minimal inference from visual interpretations. Land cover classes were based mainly on
training area data. A maximum likelihood algorithm was applied to classify all images after developing
signatures for each land cover class using equal prior probabilities for each signature. Accuracy
assessment was done for the classified image by generating 100 stratified random sampling points and
checking the same using field data. The Kappa coefficient of K = 0.9307 was obtained. Image
registration was accomplished using ENVI 3.5 software developed by Research Systems, Inc. (RSI 2001),
and image classification algorithms were executed using Idrisi32 software developed by Clark Labs
(Eastman 2001).

Field Validation
Ground surveys were conducted mainly to collect training area data for satellite image classification,
and to validate the information on resource maps and other secondary map data. Coordination with the
local communities was essential at the onset of the survey to request for their consent and for security
purposes. Local guides, particularly those who were knowledgeable and familiar with the terrain, were
employed based on the recommendation of barangay leaders to accompany the team and show which
way to go around the area. Forest habitats and other land cover types within the LCAs were visited to
assess their status and extent. Location and elevation readings of different land cover types were taken
using a GARMIN
eTrex global positioning system (GPS) receiver set to the Geographic coordinate
system and the WGS84 datum. Readings were recorded when positional accuracy was 15 meters or
better. In cases where satellite reception was poor (especially within forests with closed tree
canopies), GPS readings were taken again once there was enough opening in the canopy to acquire a
position (e.g., triangulated from at least 3 satellite signals). All GPS readings and field observations
were documented in a notebook and encoded in a spreadsheet.

Spatial Analysis
All spatial data were incorporated into a geographic information system (GIS) to facilitate better data
integration, manipulation, and analysis. Thematic datasets adopt the Universal Transverse Mercator
projection Zone 51 North and the Luzon datum. ArcView
GIS 3.2 developed by ESRI was the primary

software used including some developer extension tools such as XTools for geoprocessing, ArcView
Projection Utility for conversion between projections, Distance and Azimuth Tools for plotting
technical descriptions, and the 3D Analyst for topographical analysis.

Results and Discussion

Administrative Boundary
The Polillo archipelago is composed of 27 small islands and
islets situated on the eastern coast of mainland Luzon and lies
surrounded by the Philippine Sea. It belongs to the province of
Quezon and is composed of five municipalities, namely: Polillo,
Burdeos, Panukulan, all found on mainland Polillo; and two
offshore island municipalities, Patnanungan and Jomalig. The
Polillo archipelago has an estimated land area of 82,618.8
hectares (based on digitized coastlines from NAMRIA 1:50,000
topographic maps).

The municipality of Panukulan is composed of 12 barangays,
and is the thrid most extensive in terms of land area compared
to the other municipalities, comprising 23% of the total land
area of the Polillo Islands. The barangay boundary information
of Panukulan used in this report conforms to the cadastral
survey maps, particularly Cad-931D, of the Land Management
Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR). Lipata is identified as the largest barangay
followed by Matangkap and Bonbon (Figure 1, Table 1).

Table 1. Land area of barangays
in Panukulan.

Topography
The Polillo Islands can be considered as lowland owing to its low relief and generally level to
moderately sloping terrain (Table 2). Mt. Malulod is the highest peak found in the Polillo archipelago
standing at an estimated 310 meters above mean sea level. High elevation and steeply sloping areas
are concentrated at the northern (between Burdeos and Panukulan) and central portions (between
Barangay Area %
Balungay 713.8 3.7
Bato 950.4 5.0
Bonbon 3,052.4 16.0
Calasumanga 1,259.5 6.6
Kinalagti 1,137.5 6.0
Libo 509.0 2.7
Lipata 3,527.5 18.5
Matangkap 3,135.3 16.5
Milawid 579.6 3.0
Pag-itan 652.4 3.4
Pandan 2,789.3 14.7
San Juan 730.5 3.8
TOTAL 19,037.3 100.0
Polillo and Burdeos) of Polillo mainland (Figure 1). Both Jomalig and Patnanungan Islands have low flat
areas and gentle slopes.

Table 2. Slope categories found in the Polillo Islands and in the municipality of Panukulan.
Polillo Islands Municipality of Panukulan
Slope
Category
Description
Area (ha)
% to Total
Area
Area (ha)
% to Total
Area
0 3% Level to gently sloping 30,106.9 36.5 5,563.5 29.2
3 8% Gently sloping to undulating 18,848.8 22.8 3,308.8 17.4
8 18% Moderately sloping 22,849.7 27.7 5,651.2 29.7
18 30% Steeply sloping 8,432.1 10.2 3,054.3 16.1
30 50% Very steeply sloping 2,148.8 2.6 1,314.3 6.9
Over 50% Mountainous 184.5 0.2 137.1 0.7
TOTAL 82,570.8 100.0 19,029.3 100.0
Note: The area total from the slope computations differ by almost 8 hectares from the computed administrative land area of the
islands. This discrepancy is due to the inherent difference in data formats (i.e., raster vs. vector data formats for slope and
administrative boundary, respectively), which is best manifested along the coastlines.

POLILLO
BURDEOS
PANUKULAN
PATNANUNGAN
JOMALIG
Lipata
Bonbon
Pandan
Matangkap
Bato
Kinalagti
Libo
Calasumanga
Milawid
San J uan
Balungay
Pag-itan
legend
slope classificati on
[0 - 3%] level to gently sloping
[3 - 8%] gently sloping to undulating
[8 - 18%] moderately sloping
[18 - 30%] steeply sloping
[30 - 50%] very steeply sloping
[>50%] mountainous
barangay boundaries
municipal boundaries
coastline
rivers
5 0 5
kilometers

Figure 1. Slope classification of the Polillo Islands showing municipalities and barangays of Panukulan.

The municipality of Panukulan similarly has low relief and less of steeply sloping areas. The Revised
Forestry Code of the Philippines (PD 705) provides that lands of the public domain that are 18% in slope
and above may not be classified as alienable and disposable lands. Accordingly, based on slope
information, about 24% of the municipality may be classified as forestlands. In contrast, however, the
land classification surveys indicated that 71% were delineated as forestlands (discussed further in the
section on Land Classification).

Slope and contour information were interpolated from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)
data produced by the joint efforts of the United States National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), and
the Italian and German space agencies (Rodriguez et al. 2005).

Climate
The Polillo Islands belong to the Type II climatic type characterized as having no dry season with a very
pronounced maximum rain period from October to January (PAGASA et al. 1992). The mean monthly
rainfall ranges from about 100 680 millimeters and the annual rainfall averages to about 3.70 meters,
similar to that experienced by Baguio City, Eastern Samar, and the eastern part of Mindanao.

Soil Types and Land Capability
Six (6) soil types were determined almost throughout the entire Polillo Islands, particularly: beach
sand, Castilla Clay, hydrosol, mountain soil, Polillo sandy clay loam, and Rizal clay (Figure 2 ,Table 3).

POLILLO
BURDEOS
PANUKULAN
PATNANUNGAN
JOMALIG
Lipata
Bonbon
Pandan
Matangkap
Bato
Kinalagti
Libo
Calasumanga
Milawid
San J uan
Balungay
Pag-itan
legend
barangay boundaries
coastline
rivers
mountain soil
hydrosol
castilla clay
polillo sandy clay loam
rizal clay
beach sand
unclassified
soil types
5 0 5
kilometers

Figure 2. Soil types of the Polillo Islands showing municipalities and barangays of Panukulan.

Table 3. Description of soil types found in the Polillo Islands.
Soil Type Description
Land
Capability
Area (ha)
% to Total
Area
Beach sand This soil type is slightly eroded, found on nearly
level to gently sloping areas. It has very low
fertility, low permeability, low moisture holding
capacity, and high salinity. Formation of dunes
from wind action is likely to happen. The soil
may be devoted to coconuts, vegetables, and
root crops provided that water supply is
adequate and additional measures are taken to
increase the water holding capacity of the soil.
Ds 558.8 0.7
Castilla clay This soil type is found on strongly sloping areas
and severely eroded. Erosion and fertility are
its main problems as well as the limitation on
the number of years for cultivation. Top soil is
generally thin and the lack of soil depth for
good root penetration and water intake and
storage are added problems to cope with. It is
productive for coconuts, upland rice, and
banana; and it best suited for pasture and
forest purposes.
De 46,197.6 55.9
Hydrosol Found on level land, usually wet and cannot be
economically drained. Sea water or freshwater
usually finds passage in this area. It is suitable
for salt beds, mangroves, fishponds, or
recreation areas.
X 1,763.9 2.1
Mountain soil These are very steep and severely eroded lands.
It is very shallow, rough, and dry making it
unsuitable for cultivation. These areas can be
utilized for pasture and is best suited for forest
purposes. However, very careful management
should be observed.
N 24,839.8 30.1
Pollilo sandy clay
loam
It is nearly level and potentially good land
although it is inherently low in fertility. Its
porous subsoil allows water to percolate rapidly
thus making it somewhat droughty. Soil fertility
loss through leaching is relatively high. Rice
(lowland and upland), coconuts, fruit trees,
vegetables are best adapted to this land.
Bs 5,344.6 6.5
Rizal clay It is nearly level to gently sloping land and is
susceptible to moderate erosion. Upland rice is
productive on these lands along with the
application of erosion control measures and
fertilizers.
Be 3,517.9 4.3
unclassified Soil surveys have not been conducted on some
small islands; thus, they are treated as
unclassified.
296.2 0.5
TOTAL 82,618.8 100.0

The Polillo Islands are dominantly composed of Castilla clay and Mountain soils, both of which
experience severe degrees of soil erosion. It is important, therefore, to consider the slope, vegetation,
and intensity of rainfall for formulating soil erosion control measures. The soils on flat areas
throughout the Polillos also have inherent low fertility, which poses a restriction to agricultural
production.

Soil erosion occurs when water runs over the surface (termed as surface runoff) of a sloping land. The
rate of soil erosion will depend upon the speed of surface runoff. The volume and speed of runoff
depend upon soil, slope, vegetation, and intensity of rainfall in the area. Soil loss basically has
detrimental effects to agricultural production such that the soil loses valuable nutrients and becomes
thinner. Slope has a great influence on erosion such that runoff flows faster on steeper slopes than on
surfaces with lesser grades. Soil loss is greatest where runoff is fastest.

The terrain of the Polillo Islands is generally considered level to moderately sloping; thus, the overall
contribution of slope to soil erosion is reduced with the exception of localized mountainous areas in
the northern and central portions of Polillo Island, which exhibit steep slopes. While the effect of slope
is minimal, the intensity of rainfall in the Polillos cannot be similarly reduced since the area
experiences a high amount of precipitation all year round, which presents an increase in the volume of
surface runoff.

Land Classification
The Philippine Constitution of 1987 (Art.12, Sec.3) states that lands of the public domain in the
Philippines are classified into agricultural, forest or timber, mineral lands, and national parks.
Agricultural lands are devoted principally to farming and crop raising, and are the only lands of the
public domain that may be released for alienation (as alienable and disposable lands). Forest or
timberlands are areas covered with large tracts of trees and underbrush, which may be devoted to
wood production, reserves, or other forest purposes. Mineral lands are areas where minerals exist in
sufficient quantity and quality such that it is more valuable for mining purposes than anything else.
National parks are lands maintained by the national government as reservations for places of beauty or
public recreation. Under PD 705, forestlands may be further classified into public forests, permanent
forests or forest reserves, and forest reservations. These forestlands may not be subjected to private
ownership.

POLILLO
BURDEOS
PANUKULAN
PATNANUNGAN
JOMALIG
Lipata
Bonbon
Pandan
Matangkap
Bato
Kinalagti
Libo
Calasumanga
Milawid
San J uan
Balungay
Pag-itan
5 0 5
kilometers
legend
barangay boundaries
coastline
rivers
timberland
coal-bearing forest
reserve
alienable & disposable
communal forest
[timberland]
unclassified public forest
permanent forest
land classi fication

Figure 3. Land classifications of the Polillo Islands showing municipalities and barangays of Panukulan.
The Polillo Islands have been classified through the following land classification projects dating back to
the 1920s during the American Occupation (Table 4):

Table 4. Land classification projects surveyed in the Polillo Islands.
Project No. Coverage Date Approved Map Source
19 Polillo Island 07 June 1927 LC 664
19-A Patnanungan, Jomalig, and Kuala Islands 06 September 1933 LC 1037
19-B Polillo Island 28 August 1939 LC 1358
19-C Polillo Island 21 January 1957 LC 2066
19-D Polillo
34-A Burdeos
27 June 1957 LC 2121
34-B Patnanungan (formerly indicated as Burdeos) 26 September 1958 LC 2225
19-E Polillo
34-C Burdeos
29 December 1959 LC 2334
34-D Burdeos
43 Panukulan
09 December 1983 LC 3251

Except for some small islands, almost the entire Polillo archipelago has been categorized into the land
classification system. The islands have been classified mainly into (1) alienable and disposable lands
(A&D) and (2) forestlands. Permanent forests refer to those lands of the public domain which have
been subjected to the land classification system, and were determined to be needed for forest
purposes. These are located in the northern portion of Polillo mainland. Forest reserves were also
delineated but were also referred to as coal-bearing; thereby indicating that while these areas were
classified as forest reserves, these areas may also be subjected to mining operations if ever the need
came. It is rather unclear as to whether these areas function simultaneously as both mineral land and
forest reservation (Figure 3).

Table 5. Land classifications in the Polillo Islands and in the municipality of Panukulan.
Polillo Islands Municipality of Panukulan
Land Classification
Area (ha) % to Total Area Area (ha) % to Total Area
Alienable & Disposable 39,870.0 48.3 5,557.3 29.1
Timberland 26,635.0 32.2 7,054.8 37.1
Permanent Forest 8,968.8 11.0 6,069.4 31.9
Forest Reserve 6,218.2 7.5 354.0 1.9
Unclassified Public Forest 74.5 0.0 0.0 0.0
no data 852.2 1.0 1.8 0.0
TOTAL 82,618.7 100.0 19,037.3 100.0

About 71% of Panukulan municipalitys land area was categorized as forestlands according to the land
classification surveys (Table 5). Slope data, in the contrary, indicated that only 24% of Panukulan is
categorized with 18% slope and above (see Table 2), consequently pointing out an inconsistency with
delineated forestlands surveyed in the land classification projects. In Panukulan, the terrain contains
non-contiguous areas that are below 18% in slope. Since slope may change abruptly and vary over
continuous terrain, the delineation of land classification units based on slope may be difficult
especially if the resulting units are too small to be manageable. In this case, PD 705 provides that
certain areas may be required for forest purposes even though these are below 18% in slope,
particularly areas less than 250 hectares which are far from, or are not contiguous with, any certified
alienable and disposable land. It is presumed that the forestlands identified in the land classification
projects in Panukulan were also situated over elevated terrain and probably over areas with forests at
the time.

No communal forests were identified in Panukulan but a total of 400 hectares of communal forests
were identified in Polillo (330 ha) and Burdeos (70 ha). Communal forests are tracts of forestland set
aside by the DENR for use of the residents of a municipality from which they may cut, collect, and
remove forest products for their personal use provided that their utilization shall be in accordance with
the sustainable operations plan prepared by the LGU with the assistance of DENR. The Local
Government Code of 1991 (RA 7160) and the Joint Memorandum Circular 98-01 devolved the
management and control over such areas to the municipal governments. Since all communal forests in
the Polillo Islands are less than 5,000 hectaresthe maximum limit over such areas that may be placed
under the management and control of municipalitiesthese areas are now deemed the responsibility of
the respective municipal governments where they are situated subject to the supervision of the DENR
(RA 7160 Sec.17 b.2.ii).

Land Cover / Land Use
Prior to satellite image interpretation, the land use maps generated by the Oxford-UPLB studies using
participatory 3D modeling were the only available and complete information on the extent and
distribution of remaining forest fragments on the Polillo Islands. Other national land cover maps that
were produced (i.e., by the Swedish Space Corporation in 1987, the Japan Forest Technical Association
in 1992, and the Forest Management Bureau in 2003) are either obsolete, or too coarse for conservation
planning, or inherently limited as described by Kummer (1992) in the case of SSC data, or contain
uncertainties according to the Asian Development Bank (2004) pertaining to FMB data.

Satellite imagery was fortunately available for this project. Land cover information was interpreted
and derived from Landsat 7 ETM+ satellite imagery with path-row = 115-050, acquired on 31 July 2001
(U.S. Geological Survey 2001). The image was downloaded from the Global Land Cover Facility
[http://glcf.umiacs.umd.edu/]. While the satellite-based and the participatory 3D maps are
approximately similar in geographical scales, or even complementary in terms of land cover
information, a comparison between the two datasets has not been conducted at present. Only the
satellite-based land cover interpretation is used in this report.

The land cover interpretation yielded 10 distinct cover types (Table 6). Clouds are included as a
distinct cover type since the land cover or vegetation type beneath the clouds cannot be determined.
The same is true for shadows cast by clouds over the landscape. The clouds and shadows present at the
time of acquisition of the satellite image were determined to be less than 1% (covering approximately
612 hectares) of the total land area of Polillo Islands, which may be considered negligible as the
remaining 99% may give sufficient information of the land cover classes found over the Polillos.

Table 6. Matrix of land cover types within the five municipalities of Polillo Islands.
Cover Type Polillo Burdeos Panukulan Patnanungan Jomalig
Clouds 46.7 324.8 24.0 0.0 0.0
Shadows 31.0 152.7 29.8 0.0 0.0
Water bodies 0.6 5.4 5.1 0.8 7.6
Coastal habitats 91.4 216.2 153.4 140.1 106.5
Mangroves 816.6 1,989.1 1,227.1 994.6 91.2
Marshes 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 144.2
Grasslands/Bare soil 766.7 641.8 426.5 863.2 2,543.3
Cultivated areas 3,192.9 3,166.6 2,379.5 1,438.8 378.8
Forests 7,384.6 2,845.1 2,075.3 2,837.9 795.6
Coconut plantations 15,933.7 10,939.6 12,715.5 3,439.1 1,253.9
TOTAL 28,264.3 20,281.3 19,036.2 9,714.5 5,321.1
Note: The total area of land cover types per municipality differ from their computed administrative land area. This discrepancy
is due to the inherent difference in data formats (i.e., raster vs. vector data formats for land cover and administrative boundary,
respectively), which is best manifested along the coastlines. All figures reflect total area in hectares.

POLILLO
BURDEOS
PANUKULAN
PATNANUNGAN
JOMALIG
Lipata
Bonbon
Pandan
Matangkap
Bato
Kinalagti
Libo
Calasumanga
Milawid
San J uan
Balungay
Pag-itan
legend
barangayboundaries
coastline
rivers
land cover (2001)
clouds
shadows
sea
coastal habitats
mangroves
bare soil / grassland
cultivated areas
forests
coconut plantations
marshes
5 0 5
kilometers
P O L I L L O
S T R A I T
B U R D E O S
B A Y
L A M O N
B A Y
ANIBAWAN
BAY
P

H

I

L

I

P

P

I

N

E

S

E

A
P O L I L L O
B A Y

Figure 4. Land cover types of the Polillo Islands showing municipalities and barangays of Panukulan.

The landscape of Panukulan is mainly agricultural, which is extensively made up of coconut plantations
(Figure 4). Various vegetable crops and fruit-bearing trees are also grown beneath coconut canopies, or
sometimes left bare without any undergrowth. Banana orchards are also present but are not as
extensive as coconuts. Given that the spatial resolution of the Landsat 7 imagery is too coarse to
discriminate between coconuts and other fruit-bearing orchards, the general cover type was
determined as coconut plantations, bearing in mind that these plantations are mixed with other
vegetation. Cultivated areas include rice fields or paddies and other plots dedicated for the production
of agricultural goods (i.e., corn). Extensive paddies are situated on flat areas (near the coastline) and
within proximity of drainage channels while smaller plots (mostly slash-and-burn or kaingin) are
found on the uplands. Grasslands / bare soil are open areas covered with grass or may also be exposed,
uncultivated soils (including fallow farmlands).

Only 19% of the entire Polillo Islands remains forested, and much of the forests are fragmented and
threatened. The forest fragments and their undergrowth may be clustered into blocks, particularly
found on northern, central, and southern (separately distinguishing Sibulan/Pinaglubayan and Macnit-
Lumpag blocks) sections of Polillo mainland, and the islands of Patnanungan and Jomalig. The
municipality of Polillo holds 46% of the total forest cover of the Polillo archipelago, the largest across
all municipalities, followed by Burdeos and Patnanungan each with almost 18% of the total. Panukulan
holds 13% of the total forest cover of the Polillo Islands.

Under coastal habitats, no distinction was made to differentiate the various sub-aqueous habitats
found in coastal areas (which may include seagrass, coral reef, sand, rock), but was clustered instead
as a general cover type. Mangroves are situated along coastlines in all five municipalitiesthe most
extensive of which are found in Burdeos (see Figures 4 and 5) due to the number of islands in its
jurisdiction. Marshes, or wetlands covered with grassy vegetation, can be found on Jomalig Island.

0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
mangroves marshes bare soil /
grassland
cultivated areas forests coconut
plantations
land cover types
a
r
e
a

(
h
e
c
t
a
r
e
s
Jomalig
Patnanungan
Panukulan
Burdeos
Polillo

Figure 5. Comparative abundance of major land cover / habitat types found in the Polillo archipelago
and their distribution within each municipality.

Based on the land cover interpretation, six major habitat types can be distinguished in the Polillo
Islands, namely: mangroves, marshes, bare soil / grasslands, cultivated areas, forests, and coconut
plantations (Figure 5). Coconut plantations, found mostly on Polillo mainland municipalities, make up
about 54% of the total vegetation. Cultivated areas in Polillo and Burdeos are almost equally extensive.
For Jomalig, almost half of its landscape (48% of the island) is covered by grasslands. It possesses the
only extensive marshlands in the Polillo Islands, which indicates the presence of faunal species that
may only be found there and nowhere else in the Polillos. Five of the six major habitats or cover types
are present in all five municipalities except for marshes which are confined in Jomalig.

In the case of Panukulan, coconut plantations make up 67% of its land area. Cultivated areas represent
13% while forests only 11% of the land area of the municipality.

Tenurial Instruments
Land tenure instruments affect how forest management is implemented in the Philippines. In
establishing Local Conservation Areas in the Polillo Islands, it is therefore necessary to take these prior
rights and arrangements into consideration to come up with the most appropriate management system,
especially if the forests are already under an existing tenurial instrument. The following tenurial
arrangements are found within the municipality of Panukulan (Figure 6):

Proposed Ancestral Domain of the Indigenous Dumagat Tribe

According to the Region IV Office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), no CADT
application in the Polillo Islands has been submitted for processing as of 2006. But locals report the
presence of a proposed ancestral domain claim belonging to the Dumagat tribes in Polillo. Presently,
the Dumagat tribes are still accomplishing their application for an ancestral domain title (CADT)
following the provisions specified in the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (RA 8371).The ancestral domain
is situated across the municipalities of Polillo (namely in Brgys. Binibitinan, Taluong, and Salipsip),
Panukulan (namely in Brgys. Calasumanga, Lipata, Kinalagti, Pandan, and Matangkap), and Burdeos
(namely in Brgys. Anibawan and Aluyon). It has an approximate area of 5,768 hectares, of which 27%
(1,580 hectares) are still forested including the Anibawan limestone region identified in Clements
(2003).

POLILLO
BURDEOS
PANUKULAN
PATNANUNGAN
JOMALIG
Lipata
Bonbon
Pandan
Matangkap
Bato
Kinalagti
Libo
Calasumanga
Milawid
San J uan
Balungay
Pag-itan
5 0 5
kilometers
legend
barangay boundaries
coastline
rivers
forest cover (2001)
mangroves (2001)
ancestral domain
panukulan watershed
forest reserve
tenuri al instruments
topography [masl]
0 - 34
34 - 69
69 - 103
103 - 138
138 - 172
172 - 207
207 - 241
241 - 276
276 - 310
Palasan Island
Cabalao Island
Icol Island
Kalongkaoan Island
Kalotcot Island
San Rafael
Island

Figure 6. Tenurial instruments situated within the municipality of Panukulan. Mangrove areas are
shown to indicate the extent of the Lamon Bay Mangrove Forest Reserve (Proc. No. 2152) across the
Polillo archipelago.

The proposed ancestral domain is well outside the boundaries of any of the other LCAs proposed in this
report. Nevertheless, the ancestral domain shares common boundaries with some of the proposed
LCAs, and in effect, connects two separate LCAs situated in Panukulan and in-between Polillo and
Burdeos. It is envisioned that this ancestral domain can also serve as an LCA under an ancestral domain
management frameworkeither the entire domain of areas within it (see further discussion under
Proposed Local Conservation Areas). The Dumagat communities residing in Brgy. Bonbon in Panukulan
are also separately applying for another ancestral domain title apart from the existing claim. During an
interview with the incumbent chieftain of the Dumagat tribe in Bonbon, he described that their
application spans the entire municipality of Panukulan but excludes the areas already claimed by the
other ancestral domain claim. However, they have not started completing the application requirements
including the sketch map of the boundaries of their claim.

Panukulan Watershed Forest Reserve

The 182-hectare watershed forest reserve was established through Proclamation No. 290 on 06
November 1993 in Panukulan between the barangays of Bato and Lipata (see Appendix 1 for the
technical description of the watershed forest reserve). Although it is more commonly known as Bato
Watershed, the larger portion of the reserve is situated within barangay Lipata.

It has about 30 hectares of remaining forest (or 16% of its land area), which are mostly regenerating
forest since it was heavily logged by concessions in the past (Hampson et al. 2003). The reserve was
identified as one among many study sites during the joint researches by the Oxford-UPLB team, but
was not considered a priority for conservation interventions.

The reserve was created as a municipal watershed to secure and protect the source of water for the
local residents. It is situated at the western side of Lipata watershed although a portion of its boundary
is found at the fringes of Hook watershed, and is much closer to the communities at barangay Bato.
Despite its declaration in 1993, no formal conservation mechanisms have been installed over the
watershed reserve.

Certificate of Stewardship Contracts (CSC)

Land rights in the form of Certificate of Stewardship Contracts (CSC) were awarded to many individual
residents in Burdeos under the Integrated Social Forestry (ISF) projects between the 1980s and 1990s.
Some locals only claim rights over the land as angka, which function as first-come-first-serve
reservations to secure the land for themselves in preparation for possible land rights to be awarded in
the future. Angkas are not legally recognized as land tenure instruments but have been honored,
however, amongst the people within the communities as valid claims or almost legal agreements.

In 1995, through EO 263 followed by DAO 96-29, Community-based Forest Management (CBFM) was
adopted as the national strategy to achieve sustainable forestry and social justice in the country. All
people-oriented forestry programs of the government, including the ISF Program, among others, were
integrated and unified under the CBFM strategy. It is through this framework that the national
government intends to work with the local governments, NGOs, and forest-dependent communities in
addressing forest resource management in the country (Eslava 2004). Under the DAO 92-30 and the
Joint DENR-DILG Memorandum Circular 98-01, the management of community-based forestry projects
(e.g., ISF projects) was included among the devolved forestry management programs, projects, and
functions of the DENR to the LGUs. Hence, the responsibility over ISF projects was already delegated to
the LGUs.

As of 2005, the management of 39 ISF projects (with a total area of 4,770 hectares awarded to at least
1,712 beneficiaries) was already devolved to the LGUs of Polillo, Burdeos, and Panukulan (PENRO 2006,
pers. comm.). However, this may not be the most comprehensive information on the total area or
number of projects awarded in the Polillos since other ISF sites appear in the lists found in CENRO and
the LGUs.

The ISF areas in the Polillo Islands have not been integrated and analyzed on the GIS yet as of the
writing of this report. The control maps showing the locations of all ISF projects in the Polillos could
not be found in the archives of both the DENR (including CENRO, PENRO, and RENRO) and the LGUs.
And while the lists of awarded contracts and hardcopy maps of individual contract areas are available,
the volume of the information is too great such that it could not be incorporated in the GIS in time for
inclusion in this report.
the volume of the information is too great such that it could not be incorporated in the GIS in time for
inclusion in this report.

Lamon Bay Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserve Lamon Bay Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserve

Under Proc. No. 2152, the mangrove areas found along the coastlines encompassing the entire Lamon
Bay were declared as a Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserve. This explicitly includes the islands of Polillo,
Alabat, Cabalete, Jomalig, Patnanungan, Kalotkot, Kalongkaoan, Palasan, Cabalao, Icol, and San Rafael
in Quezon Province. It is currently included as an initial component of the NIPAS (BMD PAWB DENR
2005). Based on the 2001 land cover interpretation, the entire Polillo Islands has about 5,119 hectares
of mangroves.

Watershed Areas

A watershed is a land area that drains water into a
stream or river system. They are also sometimes
referred to as drainage basins or catchments. Ridges of
higher elevation generally form the boundaries
between two watersheds. At these boundaries, rain
falling on one side flow toward the low point of one
watershed, while rain falling on the other side of the
boundary flows toward the low point of a different
watershed.

Forests are an important component of healthy
watersheds. Forests help regulate water flow, maintain
water and air quality, provide soil stability through its
root system up to some extent (Bruijnzeel 2004), and serve as important habitats for wildlife. Hence,
adequate forest cover should be kept within watersheds to maintain the ecological services that it
provides.

One hundred forty five (145) watersheds exist throughout the Polillo archipelago (with areas ranging
approximately between 1 to 10,700 hectares), of which 96 are found within Polillo mainland. The river
systems mainly form dendritic patterns. Anibawan is the largest watershed, which has an approximate
area of 10,700 hectares and is shared between three municipalities including Polillo and Panukulan
(where the headwaters are situated) and Burdeos (where the rivers drain out to the ocean). The 10
largest watersheds in the Polillo Islands (land area > 1,300 hectares) are mostly found on Polillo
mainland (Figure 7).

The municipality of Panukulan has jurisdiction over three of these largest watersheds, namely:
Anibawan, Lipata, and Pamasaingan-Alagacon. Lipata watershed is the only basin situated entirely
within the boundaries of Panukulan.

POLILLO
BURDEOS
PANUKULAN
PATNANUNGAN
JOMALIG
5 0 5
kilometers
legend
rivers
watershed boundaries
forest cover (2001)
topography [masl]
0 - 34
34 - 69
69 - 103
103 - 138
138 - 172
172 - 207
207 - 241
241 - 276
276 - 310
P O L I L L O
B A Y
ANIBAWAN
BAY
Anibawan
San Rafael
Palasan
Pamasaingan-Alagacon
Dangla (Talusan)
Lipata
Canicanian
Burdeos
Tamasul
Kabanyalan
P

H

I

L

I

P

P

I

N

E

S

E

A
L A M O N
B A Y
B U R D E O S
B A Y
P O L I L L O
S T R A I T

Figure 7. Watersheds of the Polillo Islands with emphasis on the 10 largest watersheds.

Overall, the municipality of Panukulan has jurisdiction over 18 watersheds whether partially or
completely. The percentage of forest cover within these watersheds ranges from 0.4% to 26.4% with an
average of 6.6% (see Appendix 2).

The top three watersheds with the most forest cover are Anibawan, Pamasaingan-Alagacon, and
Bugwasanall of which are situated at the northern section of Polillo mainland (Figure 8, Appendix 2).
This only indicates that most of the remaining forest habitats in Panukulan are concentrated within
these watersheds. Smaller watersheds, particularly those found near the coastline, have lesser forest
areas possibly due to the presence of settlements and the associated resource extraction required by
communities in these watersheds.

The Kalawakan Forest Block LCA (and all of its sub-LCAs both in Panukulan and Burdeos) coincides with
portions of the watersheds with the highest amount of forest cover. This suggests that the proposed
LCA will be instrumental in maintaining and securing the remaining forest habitats of these watersheds.

The Panukulan Watershed Forest Reserve LCA, on the other hand, is hopefully envisioned to alleviate
the worsening condition of the forest cover in Lipata and Bato watersheds (with 8.3% and 3.6% in
remaining forests, respectively), which are both similarly important as water sources for two
communities, as well as a potential forest habitat restoration site.

POLILLO
BURDEOS
PANUKULAN
PATNANUNGAN
JOMALIG
2
12
15 3
6
10
8
11
9
13
18
1
14
16
7
17
5
4
5 0 5
kilometers
legend
landmass
rivers
watershed boundaries
percentage of forest cover
in panukul an watersheds
0 - 0.8
0.8 - 2.1
2.1 - 3.6
3.6 - 11.1
11.1 - 26.4
P O L I L L O
B A Y
P

H

I

L

I

P

P

I

N

E

S

E

A ANIBAWAN
BAY
L A M O N
B A Y
B U R D E O S
B A Y
P O L I L L O
S T R A I T

Figure 8. Percentage of forest cover within each watershed found in the municipality of Panukulan.

Proposed Local Conservation Areas

The ecological research expeditions conducted in 1999 and 2001 by the joint efforts of Oxford
University in the United Kingdom and the University of the Philippines in Los Baos, Laguna identified
several sites across the Polillo archipelago as urgently requiring conservation interventions. The Darwin
project currently being implemented by the Polillo Islands Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc.
(PIBCFI) springboards from the recommendations of the expedition such that it aims to declare and
establish conservation areas in the Polillos that are effectively managed by its local governments and
communities. The PIBCFI conducted further surveys focusing on mapping, the socio-economic-political
situation, and institutional capacity aspects to broaden the information on the initial short listed sites,
including other sites suggested by the local communities.


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Polillo Conservation Data

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Spatial Profile of Local Conservation Areas in the Municipality of Panukulan

Polillo Islands, Quezon Province, Philippines

GIS 3.2 developed by ESRI was the primary

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