Mt. Hamiguitan eyed as World Heritage Site

MANILA, Philippines - The Mt. Hamiguitan Mountain Range Wildlife Sanctuary in Davao Oriental is expected to be considered for inscription as a World Heritage natural site next year, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The Philippine Embassy in Paris informed the DFA that the Philippines nominated the mountain range for inscription in the World Heritage List with its high number of unique, endemic and globally threatened species of flora and fauna.

Studies have shown that the mountain range is home to a total of 1,380 species of flora and fauna with 341 species endemic to the Philippines, including the Philippine Eagle, the Philippine cockatoo, and the orchid Paphiopedilum adductum.

After deliberations in the ongoing 37th session of the World Heritage Committee in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the Philippines was requested to formally submit information on land claims and the expanded boundaries of the mountain range.

The Mt. Hamiguitan nomination was referred for discussion possibly in next year’s World Heritage Committee meeting. It is expected that once the Philippines submits all the requested additional information before February 2014, consideration for inscription will be undertaken in June 2014.