Biodiversity
Lake Lanao was proclaimed as a watershed reservation in 1992 through Presidential Proclamation 971 to ensure protection of forest cover and water yield for hydropower, irrigation and domestic use.
The lake is (or was) home to 18 endemic species of cyprinid fish (in genera Cephalakompsus, Mandibularca, Ospatulus and Puntius) and supports a large number of waterfowl. An investigations in 1992 only managed to locate three of the endemic fish species. It is believed that overfishing, pollution and competition from introduced species caused the extinction of the remaining. In October 2006, a study from the Mindanao State University discovered massive algae contamination in Lake Lanao. Initially, poor sewage and agricultural waste management were seen as the culprit to the contamination. However, the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources stated that soil erosion from indiscriminate logging and extensive land use and farming are the problems that caused the algae contamination.
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