National parks and protected areas of the Philippines

The Philippines has over 240 national parks and protected areas, encompassing about 15% of the country's land area. They are managed by the Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural Resources through its Biodiversity Management Bureau.

Understand
The Philippine national park and protected area system date back to the American colonial era. The first national parks established were nature reserves in Bataan (Lamao), Laguna (Caliraya), Negros Occidental (La Carlota), Zamboanga, Pampanga (Mount Arayat) and Isabela. Forests were soon included, starting with Mount Makiling. The first formal national park is Mount Arayat National Park in Pampanga, founded in 1932. Further areas were added since the postwar era, and the present system have been outlined in the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) Act in 1992.

Under NIPAS, protected areas in the Philippines are categorized as: national parks, protected areas, natural monuments, protected landscapes, protected landscapes and seascapes, protected seascapes, game refuges and bird sanctuaries, resource reserves, managed resource protected areas, marine reserves, watershed forest reserves, natural biotic areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and wilderness areas. Our guide rather goes on a simpler approach, dividing things into national parks and protected landscapes, i.e. all those not categorized as national parks.

National parks
There are 94 designated national parks in the Philippines, the latest additions being in Cagayan Valley. A shaded background indicates a park designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Protected landscapes
Our list of protected areas include all the other types of nature reserves under NIPAS, from natural parks to wilderness areas.

Natural parks
There are 25 natural parks as of 2010, the last addition being Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park.

Natural monuments
There are 4 designated natural monuments, which are mostly small features which are protected for their special character.


 * (693 ha) — Ilocos Sur
 * (14145 ha) — Bohol