Danjugan Island
I recently had the pleasure to visit Danjugan Island in Negros Occidental, about a four hour drive from my home base, Dumaguete. The Island was purchased by an environmental foundation about thirty years ago, and has been kept in a pristine state as much as possible ever since. There is no village on the island, and no resort either. An educational center plus a kitchen and some sleeping quarters are located on the east side of the island, and accommodations for a small number of guests on the west side. The foundations runs environmental camps for adults and children, and occasionally a yoga camp or something wholesome of that kind.
What really fascinated me was a small bay right next to the educational center, with only a connection to the ocean via a narrow channel, which looks like a white water creek when the tides bring in fresh ocean water. The bay itself is exceptionally calm for a marine ecosystem, with even water-insects living on its wave-less surface.
Mangroves are often the first thing to go in the face of “development”. In Danjugan they are healthy, and home to a wide variety of fishes and invertebrates.
The center of the mangrove-seamed bay has some blocks of healthy corals, some of which, interestingly, are exposed to the air when the tide is really low.
I shot some footage of the mangroves with the mini-dome of my GoPro, I am quite happy with the footage. This footage shows that healthy mangrove areas don’t have to be muddy, with low viz.
I also did some snorkeling – the reefs are healthy with large table corals and a good fish density and biodiversity. In fact, I saw a small angelfish species (Paracentropyge multifasciata) for the first time. I am very much looking forward to diving in Danjugan.
And, finally, there is also great birding in Danjugan. I shall take my long lenses with me on the next trip there and shoot some birds. The highlight for me in terms of avifauna was a white-bellied sea eagle. These are in fact nesting on the island.
