The Maulawin Spring Protected Landscape is a

protected landscape Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

area of forested hills and several rivers and streams located in the province of

Quezon Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon ( tl, Lalawigan ng Quezon), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Kalilayan was the first known name of th ...

on southern

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

island in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It was originally created in 1939 to protect the watershed in the municipality of

Guinayangan Guinayangan, officially the Municipality of Guinayangan ( tgl, Bayan ng Guinayangan), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,045 people. Guinayangan came from ...

known as the Maulawin Spring Watershed Forest Reserve declared through Proclamation No. 365 by President

Manuel Luis Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his dea ...

. It had an initial area of . In 2000, the forest reserve was enlarged and was redesignated as a protected landscape under the National Integrated Protected Areas System by virtue of Proclamation No. 295 issued by President

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice preside ...

. It is the only source of potable water for domestic consumption of the more than 40,000 residents of Guinayangan.

Geography

The Maulawin Spring Protected Landscape covers an area of of lowland forest in the

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

s of Himbubulo, San Pedro and Magsaysay in west-central Guinayangan. It sits on a hilly terrain in the eastern portion of the Tayabas Isthmus and the northeastern extreme of

Bondoc Peninsula The Bondoc Peninsula (commonly known as BonPen) is located in the southeastern part of Quezon Province in Calabarzon Region, southern part of Luzon Island, Philippines. The peninsula consists of 13 municipalities: Agdangan, Buenavista, Catanauan, ...

near Guinayangan's border with the municipalities of

Calauag Calauag, officially the Municipality of Calauag ( tgl, Bayan ng Calauag), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 71,809 people. It is southeast of Manila and e ...

and Lopez. The park is traversed by several rivers and creeks, some of which dry up during the summer months and which empty into the Catabangan Bay and

Ragay Gulf Ragay Gulf is a large gulf in the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon island in the Philippines, part of the Sibuyan Sea. It is separated from Tayabas Bay by the Bondoc Peninsula in the west. The gulf covers the provinces of Quezon and Camarines Sur Camar ...

, including the Maulawin River, Hiwasayan River, Tubog Creek and Prenza River. These rivers supply water for the Guinayangan Water District. The topography of the park is characterized as a complex of land configuration ranging from slightly level, sloping to rolling, and steep to hilly and rugged mountains. It has an elevation of between and above sea level and is composed primarily of clay loam. The park is located about west of the Guinayangan

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippines, Philippi ...

and some east of the provincial capital city of

Lucena Lucena, officially the City of Lucena ( fil, Lungsod ng Lucena), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines. It is the capital city of the province of Quezon where it is geographically situated but, in t ...

. It is surrounded by private agricultural lands and coconut plantations in Ermita, San Roque, Dungawan and Sisi. It is accessible via the provincial road to Guinayangan from the

Pan-Philippine Highway The Pan-Philippine Highway, also known as the Maharlika Highway ( tl, Daang Maharlika; ceb, Dalang Halangdon), is a network of roads, expressways, bridges, and ferry services that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao in t ...

(AH26) in Calauag, thence by foot through numerous trails from barangays Sisi and Calimpak.

Biodiversity

The park is a forested area with sixty percent of its territory inhabited by

dipterocarp Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 16 genera and about 695 known species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus ''Dipterocarpus'', is derived from Greek (''di'' = two, ''pteron'' = wing and ''karpos'' = fru ...

trees, including molave, ''

kamagong ''Diospyros blancoi'', (synonym ''Diospyros discolor''), commonly known as velvet apple, velvet persimmon, kamagong, or mabolo tree, is a tree of the genus ''Diospyros'' of ebony trees and persimmons. It produces edible fruit with a fine, velvet ...

'', guijo, red lauan, and white lauan, ''

yakal ''Shorea astylosa'' is a species of plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is endemic to the Philippines, where it is known as ''yakal'' in the Filipino language. Yakal is a medium to large tree about 25 to 30 meters tall. Its wood is hard an ...

'' and '' manggachapui''. It is home to a diverse bird species, such as the

Philippine dwarf kingfisher The Philippine dwarf kingfisher (''Ceyx melanurus'') is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae that is endemic to the Philippines found in the islands of Luzon, Polillo Islands, Catanduanes, Basilan, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao. Its natural h ...

rufous hornbill The rufous hornbill (''Buceros hydrocorax''), also known as the Philippine hornbill and locally as kalaw (pronounced KAH-lau), is a large species of hornbill endemic to the Philippines (the largest hornbill in the country). The are referred by lo ...

northern sooty woodpecker The northern sooty woodpecker (''Mulleripicus funebris'') is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is endemic to Luzon, Marinduque, Catanduanes and the Polillo Islands in the Philippines. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical ...

black-naped oriole The black-naped oriole (''Oriolus chinensis'') is a passerine bird in the oriole family that is found in many parts of Asia. There are several distinctive populations within the wide distribution range of this species and in the past the slende ...

, Philippine coucal,

jungle crow Jungle crow is a common name that refers to three species of crow. Initially thought to be a single species, the group has since been split into the following species: * Large-billed crow, ''Corvus macrorhynchos'' * Eastern jungle crow The easter ...

coleto The coleto (''Sarcops calvus'') is a starling species (family Sturnidae) in the monotypic genus ''Sarcops''. It is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland for ...

black-winged kite The black-winged kite (''Elanus caeruleus''), also known as the black-shouldered kite (not to be confused with the closely-related Australian species of the same name), is a small diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae best known for it ...

and

Philippine collared dove The Philippine collared dove (''Streptopelia dusumieri'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the island collared dove (''S. bitorquata''). The species occurs in the Philippines where it is ...

. It also supports some large mammals, including the

crab-eating macaque The crab-eating macaque (''Macaca fascicularis''), also known as the long-tailed macaque and referred to as the cynomolgus monkey in laboratories, is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. A species of macaque, the crab-eating macaqu ...

Philippine deer The Philippine deer (''Rusa marianna''), also known as the Philippine sambar or Philippine brown deer, is a vulnerable deer species endemic to the Philippines. It was first described from introduced populations in the Mariana Islands, hence t ...

Philippine warty pig The Philippine warty pig (''Sus philippensis'') is one of four known species in the pig genus ('' Sus'') endemic to the Philippines. The other three endemic species are the Visayan warty pig (''S. cebifrons''), Mindoro warty pig (''S. oliveri'') ...

Asian palm civet The Asian palm civet (''Paradoxurus hermaphroditus''), also called common palm civet, toddy cat and musang, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. Since 2008, it is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern as it accommodates to a broad range ...

, as well several bats and snakes.

References

{{Protected areas in CALABARZON Protected landscapes of the Philippines Springs of the Philippines Geography of Quezon Landforms of Quezon Protected areas established in 1939 1939 establishments in the Philippines

Geography

Biodiversity

See also

References