The Casecnan Protected Landscape is a protected area in the Casecnan River watershed of eastern

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 ...

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 has a total area of straddling the provinces of

Nueva Vizcaya Nueva Vizcaya, officially the Province of Nueva Vizcaya ( ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Vizcaya; gad, Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya''; tl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Vizcaya ), is a landlocked province in the ...

Quirino Quirino, officially the Province of Quirino ( ilo, Probinsia ti Quirino; tl, Lalawigan ng Quirino), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon. Its capital is Cabarroguis. It is named after Elp ...

and

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

. The Casecnan River Watershed Forest Reserve was established in August 1987 by virtue of Executive Order No. 136 issued by President Corazon Aquino. In April 2000, the forest reserve was enlarged to and was reclassified as a protected landscape area through Proclamation No. 289. It is considered one of the last remaining substantial water sources for the region of

Central Luzon Central Luzon ( pam, (Reyun ning) Kalibudtarang Luzon, pag, (Rehiyon na) Pegley na Luzon, tgl, (Rehiyon ng) Gitnang Luzon, ilo, (Rehion/Deppaar ti) Tengnga ti Luzon), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines, ...

Description

The protected landscape area stretches over the municipalities of

Dupax del Norte Dupax del Norte, officially the Municipality of Dupax del Norte ( gad, Ili na Dupax del Norte; ilo, Ili ti Dupax del Norte; tl, Bayan ng Hilagang Dupax), is a 3rd class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, ...

and Dupax del Sur in Nueva Vizcaya,

Maddela Maddela, officially the Municipality of Maddela ( ilo, Ili ti Maddela; tl, Bayan ng Maddela), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Quirino, Philippines. According to the 2020 census ...

in Quirino, and

Dipaculao Dipaculao, officially the Municipality of Dipaculao ( tl, Bayan ng Dipaculao; ilo, Ili ti Dipaculao), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Aurora, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 33,131 people. The mu ...

in Aurora. It was established to protect the watershed around the Casecnan River, a tributary of the

Rio Grande de Cagayan The Cagayan River, also known as the Río Grande de Cagayán, is the longest river and the largest river by discharge volume of water in the Philippines. It has a total length of approximately and a drainage basin covering . It is located in t ...

which flows through the mountains of central

Sierra Madre Sierra Madre (Spanish, 'mother mountain range') may refer to: Places and mountains Mexico *Sierra Madre Occidental, a mountain range in northwestern Mexico and southern Arizona *Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range in northeastern Mexico *S ...

, the Caraballo and Mamparang ranges. The river is used heavily for irrigation and serves much of the surrounding communities in Central Luzon and

Cagayan Valley Cagayan Valley ( ilo, Tanap ti Cagayan; fil, Lambak ng Cagayan), is an administrative region in the Philippines, located in the northeastern section of Luzon Island. It is composed of five Philippine provinces: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, ...

. It also supplies hydroelectric power to the region, an additional 140 megawatts of power capacity to the Luzon grid through a tunnel and powerhouse built in 2001 from the diversion

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

s in the Casecnan and Taan rivers in Nueva Vizcaya near Mount Guiwan to the

Pantabangan Dam Pantabangan Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Pampanga River located in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija, Pantabangan in Nueva Ecija province of the Philippines. The multi-purpose dam provides water for irrigation and hydroelectric power generat ...

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( tgl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Ecija , also ; ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Ecija; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Ecija; Kapampangan: ''Lalawigan/Probinsia ning Nueva Ecija''), is a landlocked province ...

. The Casecnan Dam is considered one of the most expensive hydroelectric plants in the country and was criticized for its adverse impact on the ecology of the protected area as well as the local community of

Ilongot people The Bugkalot (also Ilongot or Ibilao) are a tribe inhabiting the southern Sierra Madre and Caraballo Mountains, on the east side of Luzon in the Philippines, primarily in the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Nueva Ecija and along the mountain bor ...

(also known as Bugkalot) residing in the watershed area. On June 22, 2018, the feature was designated a national park through the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (ENIPAS) Act or Republic Act No. 11038 which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Wildlife

The Casecnan Protected Landscape area is a haven for wildlife, some of which are unique and endangered, including the

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 eagle The Philippine eagle (''Pithecophaga jefferyi''), also known as the monkey-eating eagle or great Philippine eagle, is a critically endangered species of eagle of the family Accipitridae which is endemic to forests in the Philippines. It has br ...

cloud rat The cloud rats or cloudrunners are a tribe (Phloeomyini) of arboreal and nocturnal herbivorous rodents endemic to the cloud forests of the Philippines. They belong to the family Muridae and include five genera: ''Batomys'' (hairy-tailed rats), ' ...

, hornbill, kingfisher and

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'') ...

References

{{authority control Protected landscapes of the Philippines Geography of Nueva Vizcaya Geography of Quirino Geography of Aurora (province) Protected areas of the Sierra Madre (Philippines) Protected areas established in 1987 1987 establishments in the Philippines National parks of the Philippines

Description

Wildlife

See also

References