Aliwagwag Protected Landscape

Aliwagwag Protected Landscape
Aliwagwag Falls
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Aliwagwag Falls as seen from the road (2018)
Map showing the location of Aliwagwag Protected Landscape
Map showing the location of Aliwagwag Protected Landscape
Location in the Philippines
LocationDavao de Oro and Davao Oriental, Philippines
Nearest cityBislig
Coordinates7°44′35″N 126°17′56″E / 7.74306°N 126.29889°E / 7.74306; 126.29889
Area10,491.33 hectares (25,924.6 acres)
EstablishedApril 5, 2011
Governing bodyDepartment of Environment and Natural Resources

The Aliwagwag Protected Landscape is a protected area that preserves a major drainage catchment in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao in the Davao Region. It contains the headwaters of the Cateel River in the southern Diuata Mountain Range which provides the water source and irrigation for surrounding rice fields and communities in Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental provinces. It was named after the remote rural village in the municipality of Cateel where Aliwagwag Falls, the country's highest waterfall, is located.[1]

The protected landscape is part of the Philippines' National Integrated Protected Areas System and was established in 2011 through Proclamation No. 139 issued by President Benigno Aquino III.[2] It was initially a component of the 1,927,400-hectare (4,763,000-acre) Agusan–Davao–Surigao Forest Reserve declared in 1931 through Proclamation No. 369 by Governor-General Dwight F. Davis which underwent several amendments over the years to open up a few areas in the mineral rich watershed to mining.[3][4] The protected landscape was ultimately declared a national park under Republic Act No. 11038 (Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018) signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in July 2018.[5]

  1. ^ "The Highest Waterfall in the Philippines". USA Today. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  2. ^ "Proclamation No. 139, s. 2011". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  3. ^ "Administrative Order No. 66" (PDF). Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Retrieved November 15, 2014.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Proclamation No. 583, s. 1959". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  5. ^ Aurelio, Julie M. (July 7, 2018). "Expanded Nipas law creates 94 more nat'l parks across PH". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on October 21, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.