El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area

The El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area is located on the north-western tip of mainland Palawan. In 1991, the Government of the Philippines proclaimed Bacuit Bay as a marine reserve. In 1998, the protected area was expanded to include terrestrial ecosystems and portions of the municipality of Taytay. It is now known as El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area, which covers over 36,000 hectares of land and 54,000 hectares of marine waters. It contains towering limestone cliffs, beaches, mangroves, clear waters, unique forests over limestone and neat farmlands. It is home to five (5) species of mammals, including the Malayan Pangolin and 16 bird species endemic to Palawan including the threatened Palawan Peacock Pheasant, the Palawan Hornbill and Palawan Scops Owl.  Bacuit bay is also home to the dugong, dolphins and marine turtles, many of which are threatened species. Colorful coral reef fishes are found here. Some of these are the: butterflyfishes, parrotfishes, wrasses, triggerfishes, angelfishes, surgeonfishes, damsel fishes, emperors,snappers, groupers and rabbit fishes.

The climate in El Nido is distinguished by two seasons: generally dry, from December to May, and wet, from June to November. April and May are typically the driest months, while the heaviest rainfall occurs around August.

In 1996, the El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area was selected as one of the eight Protected Areas within the Philippines, to be included in the National Integrated Protected Areas Programme (NIPAP). The NIPAP was financed through a grant from the European Union (EU) with a progressively increasing contribution from the Philippines Government through the DENR. The overall objective of the program to help protect, conserve and manage natural habitats and biodiversity.

The provincial government has also mobilized its citizenry to actively participate in various environmental conservation and protection programs, such as the "Bantay Gubat" for forest protection, and the "Bantay Dagat" for the marine life preservation. Patrolling within the Protected Area especially in the marine zones is regularly conducted with the help of the World Wildlife Fund - Philippines that allocates funds to support the said activity.

The uniqueness of El Nido Reserve as compared with similar sites in the Philippines is that it partakes of the fact that the flora and fauna of the island of Palawan has affinities that are closer with that of the island of Borneo than those of the rest of the Philippines. This is due to the fact that geologically, the island of Palawan is connected to the island of Borneo and hence to mainland Southeast Asia as late as the Pleistocene Epoch. Due also to the relative isolation of the island from the rest of the country, its waters are pristine.