The Philippines is a megadiversity country because it has an incredibly high number of endemics in a very small piece of land in the westernmost part of the Pacific (Mittermeier et al., 1998). However, it is considered one of the hottest of all the hotspots due to the widespread human activities threatening biodiversity loss in various ecosystem types (Myers et al. 2000). One of these ecosystems is called forests over limestone, which are formations thriving on limestone outcrops. The forests over limestone provide unique landscape and ecosystem services to local communities, including, provisioning (food, medicine, timber), regulating (temperature regulation, carbon sequestration), cultural (traditions), and aesthetic services (recreation) (Hamilton-Smith 2001; Clements et al. 2006; Struebig et al. 2009; BirdLife/FFI/ IUCN/WWF 2014; BMB-DENR 2019; Fernandez et al. 2020; Tolentino et al. 2020; Obeña et al. 2021; Villanueva et al. 2021a, b).
In the Philippines, the forests over limestone ecosystems serve as habitats of unique flora and fauna, including the Philippines’ national bird, the huge Philippine monkey-eating eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) (Tolentino et al., 2020). Locally known as kaigangan, the forest over limestone landscape of Samar Island is one of the most extensive limestone formations in the country and in southeast Asia as well. The recent assessment conducted by CONserve-KAIGANGAN has shown the unique biodiversity of forests over limestone in Samar Island (Fernandez et al. 2020; Tolentino et al. 2020; Obeña et al., 2021; Villanueva et al., 2021). New species had been discovered in Samar Island Natural Park forests over limestone such as Decaisnina tomentosa (Tandang et al., 2022), Corybas kaiganganianus (delos Angeles et al., 2022a), Begonia normaaguilariae (delos Angeles et al.,2022b), Schismatoglottis minuta (delos Angeles et al., 2023), and Hoya kaiganganiana (delos Angeles et al., under review). A lot more should be uncovered in the next coming years.
In Guiuan, Eastern Samar, the forests over limestone forms a unique formation and has been designated as Guiuan Marine Resource Protected Landscapes and Seascapes (GMRPLS).The coastal regions of Guiuan and nearby islands, including Manicani, Candulo, Suluan, Tubabao, Calicoan, and Homonhon, along with their adjacent reefs, located in Eastern Samar Province, were designated as the "Guiuan Marine Reserve” through the Proclamation No. 469 on September 26, 1994. This area was classified under the Protected Landscapes/Seascapes category in accordance with Republic Act 7586, also known as the National Integrated Protected Area System Act, as amended by RA 11038, or the E-NIPAS Act of 2018.
The municipality of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, is typically made of limestone and rocky substrate, where the presence of limestone rocks indicates the presence of a cave system in the area. The substrate is sandy to sandy-rocky with limestone rubbles (DENR-CENR-GMRPLS n.d.). Incidentally, Guiuan Marine Resource Protected Landscapes and Seascapes is situated in an extremely vulnerable location. It is a typhoon belt and most of the strong winds passing through the Philippines, almost always hit Eastern Samar and the GMRPLS. The inherent stress experienced by the biodiversity in the soil-deficient forests over limestone is aggravated by these strong typhoons frequenting the area.
In GMRPLS, the biodiversity documentation has been considered new records as there had been no publications on this in the past (Fernandez et al., 2020). However, threats, both natural and anthropogenic, are everywhere in GMRPLS. It is a typhoon belt and is prone to sea level rise too as it is near the shore. Harvesting is rampant and many areas have private claimants.
Setting conservation priorities with village communities is essential since not all plant species had been assessed by IUCN and the national committee on Red List led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Philippines. Setting priority species for localized conservation, helps determine the taxa in the order of priority, with local communities taking active part considering gender and age groups. It can give the local planners, resource managers, and local people essential information on local biological diversity of cultural and economic importance (Brehm et al., 2010). Moreover, this approach can also be used in identifying the priority areas for conservation (Chanthavong and Buot, 2019).
A number of species are to be conserved in Guiuan Marine Reserve Protected Landscape and Seascape (GMRPLS) in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, Philippines. There is an urgent need to look into the prioritization of species for immediate conservation. This book documents the top 20 priority plants for conservation at the GMRPLS using localized conservation priority index (LCPI) especially customized for the locality. Field photographs are shown for easy identification by stakeholders across ages and backgrounds.
This undertaking hopes to contribute to SDGs 5 (Gender equality), 6 (Clean water), 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), 12 (Responsible consumption and production), 13 (Climate Action), 15 (Life on land) and 17 (Partnership to achieve goal).
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