*Corresponding Author: ilquijano@up.edu.ph Mapping Hotspots of Human Impact on Native Dendroflora Biodiversity in Cebu Island, Philippines Isabella Pauline L. Quijano 1 , Mary Joyce L. Flores 1,2 , and Chito L. Patiño 1 1 Center for Environmental Informatics 2 Department of Biology and Environmental Science, College of Science University of the Philippines Cebu, Cebu City 6000 Philippines The continuing pressure on the natural environment exerted by human activities such as land conversion has been threatening to drive tens of thousands of species to extinction globally for decades. Species conservation requires identifying species ranges impacted by threats, which helps predict localized extirpations and potential extinctions. This paper assessed the human pressures that threaten the local biodiversity in Cebu Island, Philippines, to help prioritize actions to manage and mitigate human impacts on local biodiversity. Hotspots, where modeled dendroflora species richness is compromised, were identified through a spatial overlay of pre-defined high-resolution human pressure variables. A notable observation was that the largest and only protected KBA – the Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL) – had the highest percentage occurrence of medium to high threats within its boundaries, which could be attributed to its proximity to highly populated municipalities and cities. More importantly, possible areas of refuge for key species were identified. These areas could be appropriated as local restoration sites by the local government units of Mt. Lanaya and Nugas forest in the south of Cebu since these KBAs had high dendroflora richness but with less occurrence of high threats. The resulting maps could also be used as important references for targeted conservation management programs to help mitigate the threats that are driving local species to their decline and for preemptive planning of local and national conservation agenda. Keywords: biodiversity conservation, GIS, human pressures, species richness, weighted overlay INTRODUCTION Considered as the most denuded island in the country, Cebu Island presently has less than 1% of its total land area (Paguntalan and Jakosalem 2008; Bagarinao 2010). The immense deforestation started during the Spanish colonial period when the large hardwood trees in the island were exploited and used as ship-building materials. This intensified during the American and Japanese colonization through the exportation of native logs to their home countries. Degradation continued after the war as the human population in Cebu grew (ESSC 1999). The remaining forest fragments and consequently its biotic communities are pervasively threatened by human activities like land-use conversion, habitat clearance for mining, agriculture and human habitation, timber harvesting for house construction, and firewood gathering (Malaki and Buot 2011; Seidenschwarz 2013). Additionally, several locals in Mt. Lantoy were engaged in captive hunting of large avian species for wildlife trade (Paguntalan and Jakosalem 2008). Despite this, the 455 Philippine Journal of Science 150 (S1): 455-466, Special Issue on Biodiversity ISSN 0031 - 7683 Date Received: 04 Oct 2020