Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the most important staging and nonbreeding sites for migratory shorebirds in the Philippines, supporting tens of thousands of individuals annually across extensive intertidal mudflats, mangroves, and seagrass ecosystems. Asian Waterbird Census data confirm that several species regularly exceed the 1% flyway population threshold, including the Lesser Sand Plover, Common Tern, and Red-necked Stint, underscoring the site’s global importance within the East Asian–Australasian Flyway Partnership.

Beyond its globally significant congregations, Olango also supports a diverse assemblage of threatened and near-threatened species present in smaller numbers, such as the Far Eastern Curlew (Endangered) and Great Knot (Endangered). These species rely on the site’s productive coastal habitats for feeding and roosting, making the conservation of intertidal flats, alongside carefully managed mangrove restoration, critical to maintaining habitat balance and sustaining migratory waterbird populations.

RFI Site Snapshot