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Jose Rene F. Villegas
PDO II

Calauit Profile > Facilities> Visitor Statistics> Potentials for Ecotourism Development > Issues & Concerns

LOCATION AND GEOPHYSICAL FEATURES

The Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary (CGPWS) is located within Calauit Island in the northwestern part of Busuanga, the main island of the Calamianes, Northern Palawan. It is separated from Busuanga by extensive mangroves and the Ditapic Channel, where the waters of Illultuk Bay and the Ditapic River of Busuanga flow eastward. The CGPWS has a land cover area of approximately 3,760 hectares, wherein about 40% is open rangeland, 20% moderately undulating, and 40% hill areas. Average elevation is 50 meters above sea level (50 masl) with the highest point in Namultan Range with 237 masl. It has four major creeks that have sections that are usually dry during summer, except the Abanaban Creek that retains water even during the driest month due to an intact watershed. It has a pronounced wet season from May to November and a dry season from December to April. Average monthly rainfall is 39.4 inches, while annual precipitation is at 139.4 inches. Mean temperature is recorded at 27.6 centigrade. The marine zone area is approximated at 252 square kilometers, which is delineated seven kilometers from the mean sea level.

HISTORY

The island of Calauit was declared as a game preserve and wildlife sanctuary by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1578 issued on 31 August 1976. This was in response of the Philippine Government to the global concern to save the declining African animal population in Kenya, Africa. The island was chosen for its relative isolation, size, topography, and vegetation, which provides the necessary environmental variability like the desired expanse of hills and plains and the availability of browsing and grazing areas.

On 4 March 1977, 104 heads composed of eight exotic species of African animals from Kenya arrived in Calauit. It included 15 giraffes, 15 zebras, 18 impalas, 12 waterbucks, 11 gazelles, 11 elands, 10 topis and 12 bushbucks.

After five years (ca. 1982), the animal population increased to 201 heads, of which 58 are the original stocks and 143 are island-born. It was then during the last 18 months in the said period that a significant increase in population was achieved.

these exotic species, the waterbucks and impalas obtained the first two highest population increment. Substantial increase in population growth was also recorded for the other species, except for the topi and gazelle where high mortality during the early stages of adaptation reduced their population to less than the original number. It was in 1999 when the remaining individuals of the topi and gazelle were seen. As of September 2004, the current population was estimated at 481 heads, in which the impalas had the highest number at 150 individuals.

Continuously being conducted are other previously initiated activities such as: conservation and monitoring of the island's marine resources, including the reforestation and maintenance of hills, rangelands, and mangroves.

On December 29, 1994, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) executed a Memorandum of Agreement, thus handing over the management of the sanctuary from the former to the latter, effective January 1995. The regular budget allocation of PhP 4M per annum was also transferred from the DENR to the PCSD.

FLORA AND FAUNA

The original forested areas are limited to the Namultan and Pakopako ranges that run southwest to northeast bisecting the island into two major grassland areas north and south of the ranges. This landform is noteworthy as it also serves as the only watershed in the island. The rest of the island are covered with "buho" bamboo (Schizostachyum lumampao) stands and newly established secondary forests. Mangrove forests also adorn the estuarine areas mostly concentrated in the southeast portion at the Ditapic channel.

For more than 20 years of its existence, the CGPWS has evolved to become the country's natural showcase for the conservation of wildlife and their habitats. It holds the single distinction as the first successful wildlife translocation experiment in Asia, the second such project in the world. The African animals have been in co-existence with the free-ranging endemic and threatened Philippine animals like the Calamian deer, Mousedeer, and wild pigs to name a few. The CGPWS is also noted for its richness in marine wildlife like the dugong, sea turtles, giant clams, nautilus, octopus, coral reefs, reef fishes, seagrass beds, and commercial fish species as well.

In August 1981, conservation work on important endemic wildlife species was initiated by the CGPWS staff that include captive breeding and active field protection of the Calamian deer that started out with 25 individuals and has eventually increased in numbers. In 1983, marine turtles (Green Turtle and Hawksbill) were also reared from a day old hatchling to a one year juvenile which were released to the bay. However, the program was stopped in 1986 as advised by the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the DENR apparently since the young turtles have been preconditioned by man and not by natural means. Around 7,000 individuals have been released in the wild because of this program.

Captive breeding of eight mouse deer individuals from Balabac Island started January 1982 and has been continuing ever since. The Philippine Crocodile was also captive-bred in 1985 starting with two individuals, which has been successful in producing three offsprings. The endemic Palawan peacock pheasant was also attempted to be captive-bred in 1986, but due to a strong typhoon that damaged the enclosure, civets had intruded and decimated all five individuals.

The protection provided by Presidential Proclamation 1578 to the endemic and resident wildlife species has been beyond expectation, especially on the birds and mammals of the island. What used to be rare before, such as the raptors, imperial pigeons, perching birds, kingfishers, woodpeckers, Calamian deer, wild pig, tree shrews, monitor lizards, are now a common sight to observers.

In 1998, Professor Pedro Alviola III of the University of the Philippines Los Banos published the list of wild vertebrates as compiled from four field practicum exercises conducted by students of the same university. The inventory reflected 236 species of land vertebrates that has been recorded from the CGPWS after 20 years. This represents a 300% increase from the previous published record of 78 species in by Agaloos and Nepomuceno in 1977. This means that 158 species are new records since 1977 and may increase some more with increasing number of biodiversity studies being conducted in the CGPWS and the rest of the Calamianes group.

As of April 2005, there are an estimated 480 individuals of exotic animals and 1,390 individuals of indigenous species in the Sanctuary broken down as follows: