Background of the case study used in the
exercises
Sibuyan Island
For these exercises the case study of Sibuyan Island is used. Sibuyan Island is located
in the Romblon Province in the Philippines (Figure 6). The island measures 28 km east
to west at its widest point and 24 km north to south, with a land area of approximately
456 km2
surrounded by deep water. Steep mountain slopes covered with forest canopy
characterize the island. The land surrounding the high mountains slopes gently to the
sea and is mainly used for agricultural, mining and residential activities. The island was
selected as a case study because of its very rich biodiversity. About 700 vascular plant
species live on Sibuyan Island including 54 endemic to the island and 180 endemic to
the Philippine archipelago. Fauna diversity is low, but endemism is high. This makes the
island a 'hot spot' for nature conservation and relevant for a detailed study of land use
change. For this application a spatial resolution of 250 × 250 meter is used. Five
different land use types are distinguished for the simulation (Table 1).