MINDORO

- 4, 082 sq. miles or 10, 572 sq. km

- “dark island”

- located off the coast of Luzon and the

northeast of Palawan

- 7th largest island of the Philippines

- shares faunal attributes of both islands.

- retains its own unique character during

Pleistocene

- one of the most

severely deforested islands in the country

General Description -Divided into 2 provinces: Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro

Climate in Occidental Mindoro

- 2 distinct weather types: rainy season (late May to October) and dry season (November to April)

Climate in Oriental Mindoro

- no distinct dry or wet seasons, average temperature ranges from 26 to 32 degrees Celsius.GeographyOccidental Mindoro - mountains, rivers, valleys, hills, wide plains and some small fresh water lakes - Mt. Baco - “Bundok ng Susong Dalaga” – Maiden’s Breast Mountain

Oriental Mindoro-Western portion being mountainous or rugged, hills and flood plains in the eastern portion- Mt. Halcon (2582 m) and Lake Naujan (8, 125 ha) which is the 5th largest lake - Rice Granary and Fruit Basket of Southern Tagalog

- one of the world’s most important centers of endemism; - at least 10 species of mammals, 20 species and subspecies of birds, 49 species and subspecies of butterflies, an undefined number of reptiles, amphibians and fishes, and over 70 species of flowering plants-no local institutional capability to develop or sustain a structured biodiversity conservation program - recognized by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the World Conservation Monitoring Center (WCMC), Birdlife International (BLI), Fauna & Flora International (FFI), Conservation International (CI)- one of the world’s ten highest priority areas for conservation concern

Current Status

- top of the mountain ridge that divides the island.

- commercial logging ended long enough ago

- buffered by secondary forests that have reestablished a closed condition,

- again under threat from poaching and kaingin (slash-and-burn)

- perennial fires in adjacent grasslands used for pasture are eating into the forest

- only 8.5 percent of Mindoro was forested in 1988

- Several reserves have been established in Mindoro, beginning in 1936