Mt. Malindang Range Natural Park (MMRNP)

Wedged between the northern and northeastern parts of Misamis Occidental province in southern Philippines are three major mountain peaks, a rugged volcanic landscape and 78 rivers. Together they form the 53,262 hectares of the Mt. Malindang Natural Park as part of the worldwide chain of rainforests and mountain ranges of the tropical latitudes where most of the world’s plants and animals are found.

Mt. Malindang Range was proclaimed as National Park and Watershed Reserve on June 19, 1971 by Republic Act 6266. Pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act 7586 or the NIPAS Act of 1992, the said range was proclaimed as Natural Park on August 2, 2002 through Proclamation No. 228 which made the same a protected area. It covers 53,262 hectares but the remaining forest cover is about 33,000 hectares. The remaining portion of more than 20,000 hectares are already opened and occupied by about 4,000 families who are mostly indigenous people.

Although it has received little attention compared with other biological hotspots, Mt. Malindang is nevertheless a significant corner in terms of biodiversity. The flora and fauna in the area, the last frontier of the Zamboanga biogeographic zone, is rich: 99 species of birds, 18 species of mammals (three of which are endemic), and 494 species of plants.

Moreover, Mt. Malindang is known to harbor a rich and unique biodiversity that is yet to be explored. Besides that, the extensive and fairly well-defined water catchments emanating from the Mt. Malindang range to the coastal zones of Misamis Occidental provide spatial areas for integrating landscape-level analysis. More importantly, Mt. Malindang provides a prototype of the systemic nature and elements of the threats and responses to biodiversity in the Philippines.

This rich biological and physical resource is of major ecological and economic value, and now serves as the site for a biodiversity research initiative-the Philippines-Netherlands Biodiversity Research Programme (BRP) for Development in Mindanao: Focus on Mt. Malindang and its Environs.