Tayabas Bay including Pagbilao Bay
Location:	13°53'N, 121°37'E to 13°32'N, 122°10'E (Pagbilao Bay 13°55'N, 121°43'E); 100 km southeast of Metro Manila, east from Lucena City to the region of General Luna, Quezon Province, Luzon.
Area:	c.50,000 ha; c.100 km of coastline.
Altitude:	0-10m.
Biogeographical Province:	4.26.12.
Wetland type:	01, 02, 03, 06, 07, 10 & 19.
Description of site:	A large sweeping sea bay, stretching from Pagbilao Bay in the northwest to the Bondoc Peninsula in the southeast; with extensive intertidal mudflats, sand flats, associated pockets of mangroves and offshore coral reefs. Much of the mangrove has been converted to fish culture ponds, and the area of fish ponds continues to expand. The 700 ha patch of mangroves in the delta of the Palsabangon River and its distributaries in Pagbilao Bay is protected from strong wave action by the islands of Pagbilao Grande, Dampalita and Patayan. The rivers entering Pagbilao Bay rise in the Sierra Madre Range to the northeast and constitute the major input of freshwater to the Bay. Salinities vary according to seasonal fluctuations in river discharge in estuarine areas. The pH values range from 7 to 8. The tide is predominantly of the semi-diurnal type with a mean tidal range of 0.91m and a diurnal range of l.46m.
Climatic conditions:	Humid tropical climate, intermediate between Type II and Type IV. There is no pronounced period of maximum rainfall, and the relatively short dry periods last for up to about three months. The rainy season starts in June and reaches its peak in October. The average annual rainfall is 3,147 mm, and the mean annual temperature 27.2°C. The hottest month is May, with a mean temperature of 28.9°C, and the coldest January, with a mean temperature of 25.4°C. The mean monthly relative humidity ranges from a low of 78% in April and May to a high of 84% in December and January. The area is unprotected from the northeast monsoon, trade winds or cyclonic storms.
Principal vegetation:	Mangrove forest with true mangrove species and mangrove associates representing 23 families, notably Rhizophoraceae (eight species), Avicenniaceae (three species), Sonneratiaceae, Combretaceae, Aegicerataceae, Meliaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Rubiaceae. The dominant species are Rhizophora apiculata, R. mucronata, Ceriops tagal, C. decandra, Avicennia officinalis, A. marina, Excoecaria agallocha and Bruguiera cylindrica. Plant communities in adjacent areas include dipterocarp forest on ridges, and plantations of Cocos nucifera and rice paddies on the coastal plain.
Land tenure:	A mixture of state and private ownership; the fish ponds are leased from the Government, and the rice paddies are privately owned.
Conservation measures taken:	The Agroforestry and Mangrove Forest Research Center at Talipan in Pagbilao Bay includes 114 ha of good quality mangrove forest protected as a faunal sanctuary. The Center was established in 1975 by the Forestry Research Institute. A mangrove rehabilitation project has been established by the Forest Research Institute on the Bondoc Peninsula.
Conservation measures proposed:	Recent proposals by Howes and Alonzo-Pasicolan call for (a) the development of management guidelines for reafforestation with mangrove species in aquaculture areas, (b) a shorebird monitoring programme and biomass study, and (c) stricter control over poaching and illegal wood-cutting in the Mangrove Forest Research Center.
Land use:	Fishing is very important and supports many coastal towns and villages, particularly on the Bondoc Peninsula. A considerable proportion of the mangrove forest has been cleared for the construction of fish ponds, and about 1,000 people are now involved in aquaculture in the region. Mangrove clearance is particularly evident in the southeastern and western sections of the Mangrove Forest Research Center. The mangroves are utilized for firewood, housing materials, boat and raft supports, and fence posts, and provide a source of tannin. In the surrounding areas there is limited subsistence agriculture including small-scale rice cultivation and plantations of Cocos nucifera.
Possible changes in land use:	There is an increasing interest in aquaculture projects, particularly at Unisan, Pitogo and Macalelon, where mangroves have recently been clear-felled for new schemes. In the water catchment area, particularly north of Pagbilao, there have been increases in logging and slash-and-burn agriculture in forested areas.
Disturbances and threats:	The wetland habitats are under considerable pressure from general human encroachment, destruction of mangroves for aquaculture, pollution from the fish ponds, and increased siltation as a result of deforestation in the water catchment area. Over 10,000 ha of mangroves have already been cleared for fish ponds. Other disturbances include the illegal hunting of shorebirds and ducks (Anas luzonica) even in the Mangrove Forest Research Center, frequent illegal cutting of mangroves in the Research Center, the use of dynamite for fishing on the coral reefs, and the use of poisons for fishing in the mangrove creeks.
Economic and social values:	The site is important for local subsistance fisheries, particularly for residents of the agriculturally poor Bondoc Peninsula, and provides fish for the Metro Manila markets. The mangrove forest provides excellent protection against coastal erosion by wave action during tropical storms. The mangrove areas also serve as wind breaks which can contribute to the mitigation of wind damage to coastal settlements during typhoons. The relatively quiet waters in the mangrove forest also provide a refuge for fish during the storms. The mangroves are an important source of forest products for coastal residents. The Mangrove Forest Research Center at Talipon in Pagbilao Bay is of paramount importance for research and educational purposes.
Fauna:	The site is an important staging and wintering area for migratory herons, egrets and shorebirds. In September 1986, Alonzo-Pasicolan recorded over 400 shorebirds of nine species at Pagbilao Bay; in April 1987, Howes (1987) visited six sites in Tayabas Bay and found about 500 shorebirds of 16 species. The commoner species included Pluvialis dominica. Numenius phaeopus, Tringa glareola and Calidris ruficollis. Nine species of Ardeidae have been recorded including large numbers of Butonides striatus, a roost of c.50 Egretta garzetta and E. alba at Pagbilao, and small numbers of the endangered Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes at Pagbilao and Unisan. The remaining patches of mangroves at Pitogo and Macalelon hold small breeding colonies of Nycticorax caledonicus, and the mangrove channels at the Mangrove Forest Research Center are used by about 250 Anas luzonica as roosting and feeding areas. Mammals found in the area include the Philippine Macaque and small cetaceans. The Bay provides natural breeding and nursery grounds for a wide variety of molluscs, crustaceans, fish and other aquatic organisms of economic importance. Fishes occurring in the mangroves include species of Periophthalmus. Thalassoma, Halichores, Sygnathoides. Gastrophysics, Actobathus, Manocanthus, Sardinella, Stolephorus, Sphyraena, Leiognathus and Caranx. Two species of oysters, Ostrea orientalis, O. palmipes, and barnacles Balanus sp are common on the prop roots of Rhizophora mangroves. The zoobenthos includes invertebrates of 13 families, the commonest being Nereidare, an important food item for shorebirds. Also present are Telescopium sulcatus, T. rhizosphorarium. Uca spp, Sesarma spp, Thallasina anomala and Macrotermes gilvus.
Special floral values:	There is an excellent example of a Philippine mangrove forest at the Mangrove Forest Research Centre at Talipan, together with smaller pockets at Padre Burgos, Unisan, Pitogo and Macalelon.
Research and facilities:	The Forest Research Institute has conducted many studies on mangrove yields, mangrove products, management techniques and wildlife at its Agroforestry and Mangrove Forest Research Center and Mangrove Experimental Forest and Nursery at Talipan in Pagbilao Bay.
References:	Alonzo-Pasicolan (1987); Caleda (1987); Center for Development Studies (1977-78 & 1978); Howes (1987); Interwader (1987).
Criteria for inclusion:	1b, 1e, 2a, 2c, 3b.
Source:	Simplicia N. Alonzo-Pasicolan, Haribon Foundation and John R. Howes.