GOVERNOR GENEROSO, Davao Oriental – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has declared the Mount Hamiguitan Range and Wildlife Sanctuary (MHRWS) in Davao Oriental closed to all visitors, trekkers, and mountaineers to protect the area from the effect of the El Niño phenomenon that is affecting some parts of the country.

Authorities said Mount Hamiguitan will be open only for approved scientific research studies and activities.

It was learned that the mountain has the only protected forest, with an estimated area of 2,000 hectares, noted for its unique bonsai forest or “pygmy forest” of centuries-old trees in an ultramafic soil, with many endangered, endemic and rare species of flora and fauna.

The closure order was spelled out under the MHRWS Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) Resolution No. 2010-2 dated March 25, 2010 done by the municipal government of Governor Generoso.

According to DENR Region 11 Executive Director Jim Sampulna, the PAMB of Davao Oriental feels the urgent need for the closure in order to protect Mount Hamiguitan from the effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

In 2003, the range was declared as a national park and known as the Mount Hamiguitan Range and Wildlife Sanctuary with an area of 6,834 hectares.

The provincial officials of Davao Oriental are also seeking to list the park as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“The closure is also intended to protect Mount Hamiguitan from any form of destruction while its bid to be inscribed in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) list is ongoing,” Sampulna said.

PAMB also aims to set in place a realistic and responsive visitor management program or system before reopening Mount Hamiguitan to trekkers or visitors.

It has a height of about 1,620 meters and home to the natural bonsai forest in the country.

The mountain and its vicinity hold one of the most diverse wildlife populations in the Philippines.

Among the wildlife found in the area are the Philippine eagle and several species of Nepenthes, some of which are endemic to the area such as the Nepenthes peltata.

Nepenthes peltata has only been recorded from the upper slopes of Mount Hamiguitan.