Pheasants: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan ... - IUCN

Threats: Lowland forest clearance and modification for
cultivation remain the major threats. Only 25% of suitable
habitat that was available for the species prior to 1970
remains today (McGowan and Gillman 1997). Hunting
for food, sport, and the live bird trade presumably
contributed to its probable extinction in Thailand. Whilst
it is susceptible to snaring targeted at all ground-foraging
animals, there is no evidence to indicate it is particularly
sought after in Malaysia.
Conservation: CITES Appendix II. Important wild
populations occur in at least two protected areas, Taman
Negara National Park and Krau Wildlife Reserve, and
further populations have been reported at Sungai Dusun
Wildlife Reserve (Selangor) and a number of forest reserves
that do not qualify as protected areas under wildlife
legislation, including Pasoh (Negeri Sembilan). A
management study to heighten status and improve
protection measures at Krau Wildlife Reserve is currently
being undertaken (P.J.K. McGowan in litt.).
Targets:
• Conduct surveys to clarify current distribution patterns
and status for all known populations, particularly in
Taman Negara and Krau.
• Determine its precise habitat requirements and response
to habitat alterations.
• Support proposals for heightened status, and stricter
management guidelines and protection measures at Krau
Wildlife Reserve.
Palawan peacock-pheasant
(Polyplectron emphanum)
Vulnerable A1c,d; A2c,d; B1+2b-e; C1
This species qualifies as Vulnerable because it has a small,
severely fragmented range and a small population that is
undergoing a rapid decline as a result of habitat destruction,
hunting, and trade.
Range and population: The Palawan peacock-pheasant is
endemic to the Philippines, where it occurs on Palawan. It
is known from about 20 localities throughout the island,
with records from at least 11 since 1980 (McGowan et al.
1989, Girdler 1996), and local reports suggest it has a
wider distribution (Lambert 1993). In the early 1970s,
despite local extinctions, it was not considered particularly
rare (Grimwood 1974). In 1995, its fragmented population
was estimated to number less than 10,000 (McGowan and
Garson 1995). It is evidently still declining.
Ecology: This species mainly inhabits primary and
secondary forest on flat and rolling terrain up to about
800m elevation, and occasionally occurs in mossy forest
and in Casuarina-dominated “dwarf forest” on serpentine
rock (Collar et al. 1999).
Threats: Deforestation in lowland Palawan has been
extensive, and logging and mining concessions have been
granted for almost all remaining forests on the island
(Lambert 1993). Illegal logging is thought to persist in the
remaining extensive forest of the south. Forest at Iwahig
Penal Colony, regarded as a key site, may be threatened by
plans to mine chromite (Girdler 1996). By the late 1960s,
the species was being extensively hunted and trapped in
large numbers for live trade (Gonzales and Alcala 1969),
but exports were much reduced by the late 1980s (Gonzales
and Rees 1988, McGowan et al. 1989). In the mid-1990s,
it was heavily hunted adjacent to St Paul’s Subterranean
River National Park (R.P. Girdler in litt.).
Conservation: CITES Appendix I. The whole of Palawan
is classed as a game reserve, where hunting is illegal.
In 1990, the island was designated in its entirety as a
Biosphere Reserve, although the legislation controlling
habitat alteration and hunting is extremely difficult to
enforce effectively. The species occurs in two protected
areas: El Nido Marine Reserve and St Paul’s Subterranean
River National Park. The latter may soon be significantly
extended to the east (Lambert 1994), where the species
is known to occur (Girdler 1996). It was also recently
featured on a bilingual environmental awareness poster
in the “Only in the Philippines” series (W.L.R. Oliver
in litt.).
Targets:
• Conduct surveys to assess distribution, status, and habitat
requirements in remaining lowland forests and secondary
habitats, particularly south of Brooke’s Point, on the
slopes of Mount Victoria, and in remaining forests in the
north.
• Support the proposed extension of St Paul’s Subterranean
River National Park.
• Seek formal protection for forests at Iwahig.
• Allocate greater resources towards more effective control
of hunting and initiate conservation awareness campaigns
amongst forest product collectors.
Crested argus
(Rheinardia ocellata)
Vulnerable A1c,d; A2c,d
This magnificent pheasant qualifies as Vulnerable because
it is undergoing rapid population decline as a result of
exploitation and reduction in the extent and quality of its
evergreen forest habitat. This trend is projected to continue.
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