PALAWAN ISLAND BIODIVERSITY

Philippines' Palawan Island is the country's biggest island. The island is still undeveloped
because it is partially desert. National Geographic Traveler ranked Palawan Island as the 13th
best island in the world and the best region in Southeast Asia in 2007, it is the Philippine most
diverse island.Palawan has been referred to as the "last biodiversity frontier" of the Philippines
and has 700,000 hectares of forests (as of 2010).According to 1998 Landsat imagery, the
province's total land area is covered by forest to a degree of about 56 percent, with mangrove
forests making up 3.35 percent of that total. From 19.0% in 1992 to 12.40% in 1998, grasslands
decreased. Since deteriorating soil is typically invaded by grass species, this is a sign of
improving soil health. The proportion of brushlands on the land increased to 25%.Nearly 11,000
square kilometers, or more than 35% of the country's coral reefs, are spread out beneath the
seas.
 Off the coast of the Philippine island of Palawan's municipality of Narra is the flat coral island
of Rasa Island in the Sulu Sea. One of the last remaining coastal forests in the nation, it is a
shallow island surrounded by mangroves and tidal flats. It was designated a protected area in
2006 and is home to the largest population of the critically endangered Philippine cockatoo in
the wild. The Philippine cockatoo, also known as the red-vented cockatoo and locally as
katala, it is an endemic parrot species to the Philippines. Rasa Island is its natural habitat. The
Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary was established by the Philippine government to protect this bird
species, whose population dropped dramatically from as many as 4,000 in 1994 to only about
1,000 in 2001 as a result of illegal poaching and rapid deforestation of its coastal environment.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources now oversees the 1,983 hectare
(4,900 acre) bird sanctuary in collaboration with the Katala Foundation's Philippine Cockatoo
Conservation Program. The wildlife wardens on the island are now ex-poachers from the
Tagbanua community of Narra.

The Katala Foundation's conservation efforts are jeopardized by plans to build a coal-fired
power station on Palawan's coast. Environmental groups such as the Katala Foundation and
Rainforest Rescue are working to stop the construction. Additionally, habitat loss due to logging
(both legal and illegal), conversion of forest land to agricultural use, mining, and road and urban
development pose a threat. It faces threats from climate change and extreme weather in Rasa
Island, where droughts have killed up to 60% of nestlings.

The Katala Foundation's efforts have resulted in an increase in population from 23 in 1998 to
260-340 individuals by the end of 2015. Individuals have reportedly'self-introduced' from Rasa
Island to the mainland, indicating that Rasa is nearing capacity. The cockatoo population
increased from 40 birds in 2008 to at least 230 by the end of 2015. Despite these massive
efforts, it is believed that the overall cockatoo population is decreasing due to the numerous
threats affecting other sites.