Nature's pharmacy and wildlife sanctuary

The Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape (MMPL) in Palawan province is a rare find.

This Protected Area located 140 kilometers souteast of Puerto Princesa City is both a wildlife sanctuary and nature's pharmacy.

It is said to have abundant supply of plants with pharmaceutical values.  

People depend on its bounty for food, shelter and medicine.

MMPL has a total land area of 120,457 hectares.

In Photo: View of Mount Mantalingahan from Ransang, Rizal, Palawan DENR-BMB National Parks Division

It encompasses the five towns of Quezon, Rizal, Sofronio Española, Brooke’s Point and Bataraza. It is a protected landscape by virtue of Proclamation 1815 signed on June 23, 2009, by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Mount Mantalingahan, from which the MMPL got its name, is a key biodiversity area (KBA).  

Towering at 2,085 meters above sea level, Mount Mantalingahan’s forest is host to a good number of plants and animal species, many of which are endemic to the island-province.

MMPL is also a major source of water for domestic, agriculture and fisheries of the residents in the surrounding municipalities, of which farming is a predominant way of life.

South Palawan contains approximately 60 principal rivers, of which 45 drain from the Mantalingahan range.

Thirty-three watersheds could be found in the MMPL, mostly within Rizal and Brooke’s Point. 

Two of the watersheds, which are micro-sized with an area of less than 1,000 hectares, are small watersheds ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 hectares, while 10 are medium, which range between 10,000 to 50,000 hectares.

Like many Protected Areas in the Philippines, the MMPL is threatened by human pressure.  

It is also threatened by mining.  There are four Minerals Production Sharing Agreement (MPSAs) that sit within the MMPL and the power to allow mining companies to explore the minerals buried underneath the earth's surface in this part of the world rests upon the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD).

Advocates are worried that the PCSD would eventually allow mining operation within the MMPL, like it allowed agricultural corporations to convert vast portions into plantations to grow palm and rubber.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is apparently worried that if such happens, this KBA and all the wildlife that thrives within would eventually be lost.  (30)