WWF-Philippines and Sunlife Foundation Visit Tamaraw Reserve, Indigenous Communities in Mindoro
February 2019
Reiza Banega (Blue jacket, red walking stick), Lead for Programs and Partnerships at Sun Life Foundation, inspects camera traps set up in "Tamaraw Plaza" alongside WWF-Philippines staff. Photograph © Alo Lantin / WWF-Philippines.
Conservation efforts continue in Mindoro with the support of Sun Life Financial Philippines – Foundation.
On the 16th of February, 2019, representatives from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines brought official partner Sun Life Financial Philippines – Foundation to Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park, Mindoro to visit “Tamaraw Plaza,” a conservation site for the endangered land mammal. The trip was followed by a visit to the community of Tamisan II, a community of Tao Buid - an ethno-linguistic tribe of the indigenous Mangyan.
A multi-step communal farm for local Mangyan tribes living in the Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park. The communal farm is being built as part of the effort to bring food security to the indigenous peoples of Mindoro. Photograph © Alo Lantin / WWF-Philippines
The partnership between Sun Life and WWF-Philippines began in 2012, with the partnership focusing on the conservation of the tamaraw in 2018. The tamaraw is the Philippines’ largest endemic land mammal and is listed as critically endangered as per the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Tamaraw populations dropped from approximately 10,000 in the early 1900s to a low of 154 in the year 2000. Due to the efforts of the Tamaraw Conservation Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-TCP), the population has risen up to 523 as of late 2018.
WWF-Philippines’ efforts to conserve tamaraw populations includes extending support to the indigenous tribes that call the Iglit-Baco range home. Food security for the indigenous peoples of Mindoro is a step toward helping both the indigenous communities and the tamaraw population to thrive within the national park. To this end WWF-Philippines has been working with Sun Life to improve the wellbeing of local indigenous groups as a supplement to tamaraw conservation efforts. Efforts include the construction of a terraced communal farm at the foot of the Mts. Iglit-Baco range.
A trio of tamaraw stand on guard in Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park. Sun Life has committed to supporting WWF-Philippines in the conservation of this endangered endemic species. Photograph © Gregg Yan / WWF-Philippines
“I think the tamaraw is a part of our identity as Filipinos. Saving the tamaraw is ensuring that our children will continue to have something we are truly proud of,” says Reiza Banega, Lead for Programs and Partnerships at Sun Life Foundation. Sun Life has given support towards the positive developments that have been witnessed in Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park. From the tamaraws to the indigenous people living along the mountain, the organization has committed to supporting what is endemic and original to the island of Mindoro.
For more information, please contact:
Communications & Media Manager Mr. Dan Ramirez (dramirez@wwf.org.ph)
