Palawan
The Palawan Biosphere Reserve is a cluster of islands composed of one long main island and smaller groups of islands around it. The 1,150,800 hectares of the biosphere reserve include the entire Province of Palawan Island, which is the westernmost province of the Philippines.
The total population in 2000 is 755,412 with an annual population growth rate of 3.6%. The Palawan BR is also home to approximately 57 ethnolinguistic groups with 3 indigenous peoples: the Tagbanua, Palaw’an, and the Bataks.
The province of Palawan is known as the Philippine’s “last ecological frontier”.
The Palawan BR is an archipelago composed of main island and more than 1,700 islands. It is endowed with rich natural resources and highly diverse flora and fauna found in both land and sea.
Based on the IUCN classification, it has 105 out of the 475 threatened species in the Philippines. Of the 105 threatened species, 67 are endemic to the Philippines, while 42 of the 67 Philippine endemics are Palawan endemics. It also harbors several marine mammals such as marine turtles, dugong, and whale shark. The characteristics of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems are also diverse. Read more about this reserve on the UNESCO Biosphere Reserves website.
