The Libunao Protected Landscape, also known as the Libunao Spring Protected Landscape, is a protected area in the

Ilocos Region Ilocos Region ( ilo, Rehion/Deppaar ti Ilocos; pag, Sagor na Baybay na Luzon/Rehiyon Uno; tl, Rehiyon ng Ilocos) is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region I, occupying the northwestern section of Luzon and part of ...

of the island of

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 ...

located on the western foothills of the Ilocos Mountain Range. It protects the Libunao Spring and surrounding forests, as well as the Nagcullooban River watershed. First proclaimed as the Libunao Spring Watershed Forest Reserve in 1931 through Proclamation No. 410 issued by Governor-General

Dwight F. Davis Dwight Filley Davis Sr. (July 5, 1879 – November 28, 1945) was an American tennis player and politician. He is best remembered as the founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition. He was the Assistant Secretary of War from 1923 to ...

, the park was reestablished as a protected landscape area under the National Integrated Protected Areas System in 2000 through Proclamation No. 280 signed 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 presi ...

. The Libunao watershed is the source of water supply for domestic use and irrigation of the surrounding farms and communities of northern

Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur, officially the Province of Ilocos Sur ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Sur; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Sur), is a province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital o ...

province.

Description

The protected landscape area of Libunao covers an area of . It encompasses parts of the municipalities of

Sinait Sinait, officially the Municipality of Sinait ( ilo, Ili ti Sinait; fil, Bayan ng Sinait), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,998 people. History Befo ...

and

Cabugao Cabugao, officially the Municipality of Cabugao ( ilo, Ili ti Cabugao; fil, Bayan ng Cabugao), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 38,884 people. Etymol ...

, from the rural Sinait village of Nagcullooban up to the Cabugao

sitio A ''sitio'' (Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popul ...

of Caset in Barangay Maradodon. It has an average slope of between 18% and 50% steepness with a soil condition consisting of clay loam. The park is located approximately from the

poblacion ''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippine city or municipality, which may take up the ...

or town proper of Sinait and Cabugao and some north of the provincial capital and heritage city of

Vigan Vigan, officially the City of Vigan ( ilo, Siudad ti Vigan; fil, Lungsod ng Vigan), is a 4th class component city and capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,935 people. Loc ...

. It is one of four protected watershed landscape areas in Ilocos Sur. Libunao is covered primarily with

cogon grass ''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has also been intro ...

and giant reed. Its lowland forest contains some leguminous tree species such as mango, narra, mahogany, bangkal, acacia, ipil-ipil, duhat, akleng parang, elemi, tibig, hauili, anabiong and molave.

References

{{Protected areas in the Ilocos Region Protected landscapes of the Philippines Springs of the Philippines Geography of Ilocos Sur Landforms of Ilocos Sur Protected areas established in 1931 1931 establishments in the Philippines

Description

See also

References