Why ‘Biosecurity’ is Important for Wildlife Conservation

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Tamaraw and Tribal Communities Decimated by Disease


Fausto Novelozo, chief of the Taw’buid tribe, exhales from his worn clay pipe. The sweet scent of wild tobacco envelopes the hut. “It was sickness that drove us down from the mountains. Measles we got from Tagalog visitors. Half our village of 200 died. The survivors moved here to be closer to civilization. Now we constantly need medicine.”

We’re in Tamisan Dos, one of two newly-established villages flanking a road which leads to the Iglit-Baco Natural Park in Occidental Mindoro. In their tongue, Taw’buid means ‘people from above’ because they historically inhabited the island’s mountainous interior. Fausto’s people are highlanders no more.

Before we push deeper into the park, we leave the old chief some provisions – coffee, sugar, salt and a small bag of medicine.

Taw’buid huts at Tamisan Dos, a tribal village established around 2015 when measles broke out among Occidental Mindoro’s upland tribes. Half the population of a village of 200 people died. Survivors set-up two villages, Tamisan Uno and Dos. Disease is a major killer of animals and people which have been isolated for generations. (Gregg Yan / UNDP)

The Danger of Disease

When imagining threats to biodiversity, wildfires, logging, poaching and other visual activities are top-of-mind. But sometimes, the smallest beings do the most damage.

Disease is a major killer of isolated tribes. In July of 1837, an American steamboat called the Saint Peter infected the Mandan, a North American tribe of about 2000, with smallpox. Three months later, only 23 were left alive.

“Isolated communities are especially vulnerable to diseases from the outside world because immune responses have yet to be developed,” says medical anthropologist Dr. Gideon Lasco. “Limited access to health care and fear of hospitals also keeps them from seeking treatment.”

The Taw’buid are just one of many groups that the Tamaraw Conservation Programme (TCP) works with in their 40-year old bid to save the tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis), a well-known but critically-endangered buffalo found only in the Philippines. Like native tribes, the tamaraw is highly-vulnerable to disease.

Punong Tribo Fausto Novelozo inside his modest hut in Tamisan Dos, at the foothills of the Mounts Iglit-Baco Natural Park in Occidental Mindoro. At 66, he is the chief of the Taw’buid, the most numerous of Mindoro’s eight ethnolinguistic groups. The son of the previous chief, he lived in Cavite for several years before returning to lead his tribe. An excellent conservation ally, he actively convinces other tribesfolk to stop setting-up traps for tamaraw. (Gregg Yan / UNDP BIOFIN)

Decimated by Rinderpest

Once, tamaraw grazed by the thousands. An estimated 10,000 inhabited Mindoro at the turn of the century.

As now, Mindoro then had prime-pastureland – so good that ranchers imported thousands of cattle to the island. As grazing competition for the lowlands increased, ranchers started herding their cattle up mountains – the same ones occupied by tamaraw.

In the 1930s, an outbreak of rinderpest took place. A deadly virus which kills 90% of what it infects, rinderpest laid waste not just to the population of farmed cattle, but wild tamaraw as well.

By 1969, numbers were estimated to have dropped under 100, prompting the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to declare the species as critically endangered – just one step above extinction.

Decades of conservation led by the TCP, Biodiversity Management Bureau, Mounts Iglit-Baco Natural Park (MIBNP) and a host of allies including the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) of the United Nations Development Programme and Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Incorporated, D’Aboville Foundation, Global Wildlife Conservation, World Wide Fund for Nature, Far Eastern University and Eco Explorations, have helped tamaraw numbers recover to around 600, confined to four isolated areas in Mindoro. All are vulnerable to disease.

“Bovine tuberculosis, hemosep and anthrax can enter Mindoro if we’re not careful,” explains Dr. Mikko Angelo Reyes, a Mindoro-based veterinarian. “The key is biosecurity, the prevention of disease through quarantine, inoculation and immunization. We should ensure that at the very least, animals entering the island are checked for sickness. We should also establish and respect buffer zones around protected areas, which are often rung by farms and livestock.”

The Mounts Iglit-Baco Natural Park (MIBNP), a former game refuge turned into a protected area, spans 106,655 hectares. It is home to the Philippine brown deer (Rusa marianna), Oliver’s warty pig (Sus oliveri) plus many other rare and endangered species. It also hosts 480 of the world’s 600 remaining tamaraw.

It is also currently surrounded by 3000 cattle belonging to 30 ranchers.


Rangers Need Help

Together, TCP and MIBNP rangers work to ward off invading cattle or heavily-armed poachers. They constantly dismantle spring-loaded balatik and deadly silo snare traps while discouraging the park’s indigenous Taw’buid and Buhid tribesfolk from engaging in slash-and-burn farming.

“It’s no easy task since the tribes must feed their growing families,” says TCP head Neil Anthony Del Mundo. “As their numbers swell, so do their requirements for space and food, which is why they’re setting-up more traps, even inside core zones. This is a challenge faced by all protected areas inhabited by people.”

The life of a tamaraw ranger is fraught with difficulty – the risk is high, the pay low.

TCP was created to bolster tamaraw conservation efforts in 1979 through Executive Order 544. However, it was set-up as a special project instead of an office, so only its head is a regular employee with benefits.

In 2018, TCP was allotted PHP4.2M for operations. This 2019, the budget was slashed to PHP3.3M, 75% of which goes to personnel salaries, leaving little for operational and field expenses.

Despite the fact that most rangers have put in an average of 10 years’ service and stay in the field a month at a time, none of them get benefits despite years of dangerous fieldwork.

“TCP must be institutionalized as an office to secure better pay, permanent tenure and government benefits for its hardworking rangers. Our tamaraw rangers go out against hunters armed with military-grade rifles. Communist rebels pass through the same places they patrol. Poisonous snakes, charging tamaraw, animal traps, dangerously-swollen rivers … every time our boys go out on patrol, one foot’s already in the grave,” adds June Pineda, former TCP head and now a Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) based in Mindoro.

To gather much-needed resources for TCP and various protected areas nationwide, BIOFIN is helping raise funds via bank account donations to Metrobank account number 750-001-5620.

“A little help goes a long way. We ask fellow Pinoys to donate just a bit to save the tamaraw and the rangers keeping them alive and kicking,” says BIOFIN Philippines project manager Anabelle Plantilla. “Through their efforts and sacrifice, they have managed to grow tamaraw numbers from 100 to about 600.”

Since its inception in 2012, BIOFIN has worked with both the public and private sectors to enhance protection for the country’s biodiversity hotspots by helping secure funds to implement sound biodiversity programs.

The Iglit-Baco Natural Park exists in a fragile balance. To keep its people, animals and ecosystems healthy, we all need to pitch in. Donate via the details below and click here to know more.


Metrobank Account Name: Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Incorporated.

Current Account Number: 750-001-5620.

Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) are endemic forest buffalo found only on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines. Numbering only about 600, they are considered critically-endangered by the IUCN. Adults stand a meter at the shoulder and weigh around 300 kilogrammes. Bulls are larger, darker and solitary, while cows tend their calves in close-knit groups. Lobbyists are pushing for it to become the country’s national land animal. (Gregg Yan)

Approximately 600 tamaraw survive in four separate areas, shown here. Depleted populations have little chance of surviving on their own, so immediate conservation support is needed. Click here to help. (MIBNP FILE PHOTO)

Written By Gregg Yan

Growing Business: 6 Factors to Consider While Growing Globally

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Starting a business from the ground up is no easy feat. It can take years to reach a stable point in your operations, whether you create products, offer creative services, or manage a team of experts.

Almost every new business owner’s dream is to take their company to the next level and reach more customers. Eventually, there will come a time when you’ve reached the potential to scale globally. Back in the day, this was such a difficult task to accomplish. It entailed flying in and out of different countries before you can operate.

Now, however, closing a business deal is much faster. With the technology this era brings, expanding your services and catering to an international audience just got more convenient. You’ll never get the legalities out of the way, but setting up meetings and outsourcing your staff has become possible. Such practices have allowed companies to ramp up their efforts in growing their business.

But before you completely embrace the digital age and dive headfirst into your dream of expanding your business overseas, it’s worth taking a look at some critical factors when it comes to going global. Below are a few.

1. Language, culture, and practices of your new market

In an ideal world, your product or services are universally applicable to all cultures and races. The truth is there are a lot of nuances when it comes to these aspects. You will have to study it properly before marketing and positioning your product.

As with the case of language, it will be beneficial if you can hire bilingual staff members, full-time translators, or outsourced an employee for that position to help you communicate properly with your new region. Understanding the cultural and lingual differences in a country is the key to penetrating their market successfully. Don’t expect that your promotional efforts in one place will work equally across the globe.

2. International compliance, laws, and regulations

There’s so much to study when you start operating on foreign soil to the point that it can be a bit intimidating. Things like tax codes, business regulations, packaging standards, and all the legal paperwork can make your head hurt, much like how it went when you were first setting up your business.

It can take months to set up your corporation depending on the requirements that each country, state, or city will ask for, so be ready for this challenge. It’s worth seeking help from business partners who operate in the same location. They can accurately illustrate the economy and business landscape of the country you’re trying to set up your company in.

3. Packaging, shipping, and logistics

If your business sells a tangible product, chances are it will be produced in one major hub or headquarters. This will then have to be transported to the countries you operate in—all of which have different requirements. This means getting a reliable partner who can process all the specifications according to its destination.

You would also need a business shipping container to transport your goods from one port to another safely—sealed, free from damages, and ready for sale. This adds to your overall packaging and production cost, as each country will have different demands when it comes to allowing you to sell your item.

4. Facing local and international competition

It’s safe to assume that your product won’t be the first of its kind to enter your foreign market. Perhaps the country has a local business running the same thing, or other international companies have explored and invested in the same place before you.

Study how they run things and how successful they’re currently doing so that you can benchmark your company’s performance. It will allow you to think of creative ways to surpass your industry rivals.

There’s also the case of earning the trust of your new market. Being a new player in the game will put you at a disadvantage in the beginning. But with the right analyses of trends, you should be able to see your numbers slowly rising.

5. The different pace of growth

Speaking of “numbers slowly rising,” it’s important to note that there’s no way to accurately predict how fast your company will click in a different country.

You may be doing so well in Asia but realize that the US or European markets are a bit harder to conquer. This is normal and doesn’t immediately spell out bad news for your company. Perhaps this means you should look into more ways you can position or market your product in its new location.

6. Increase in overall business operational cost

Financial gains and broader market opportunities are what encourage business owners to venture into global expansion. While this is true, keep in mind that the more places you operate in, the more money your company will bleed out.

Financial preparedness is necessary when it comes to taking the first few steps into going global. Up until your company finds footing in a new territory, you should be anticipating massive expenses that will be poured into establishing your company in a new location.

Knowing is Half the Battle

Familiarizing yourself with the different challenges that businesses encounter when it comes to global expansion can help you become more prepared for the time when you want to push forward with this strategy.

It can even be a good idea to visit and stay in the country you want to operate in to gather more info about the country. Before making any significant decisions, run them by your team and think of all possible outcomes, so you can better prepare yourself for emergencies or the unexpected fast pace of growth.

You can overcome these struggles with the help of reliable business partners and hiring team members whom you trust can carry out your business goals. It cannot be stressed enough that you can’t do this alone. Tap the help of your international business partners or locals from the area you wish to expand so that they can give you more insight into what your company may face.

Indie-Siyensya Deadline Extended to January 27

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute has extended the deadline of submission of entries to the 4th annual Indie-Siyensya Filmmaking Competition to January 27, Monday.

Young individuals and S&T professionals (researchers and science communicators) are expected to produce documentary films which are based on scientific facts, under ten (10) minutes, and relevant to the theme “Communities Beyond the Naked Eye.”

The science films should focus on the life and impact of microorganisms, insects and other creatures or systems smaller than what we see using the naked eye, and/or highlight the relationships of these types of communities on different levels.

Indie-Siyensya, which seeks to promote science culture to the youth and the general public using film as a medium, is also the agency’s response to the growing field of science communication in the country.

“This competition aims to use filmmaking in communicating to the public scientific concepts as well as in highlighting the critical role of S&T in national development to the public and to entice the youth to become part of the growing S&T workforce of the country,” DOST-SEI Director Dr. Josette Biyo said.

Dr. Biyo also encouraged all qualified individuals and groups, during its launch at the Regional Science and Technology Week in Iloilo last October, to join Indie-Siyensya and to continue using film to develop understanding on the role of science in solving many of the country’s problems.

There are two main categories for interested Filipino applicants who may join as individuals or in groups: the “Youth Category” for high school, tertiary school and out-of-school youth aged 13-20, and the “Open category” for college students, teachers, amateur filmmakers, science professionals, and others.

Entries will be judged based on the following criteria: Scientific Content, Execution of Idea and Film Techniques. Winners for each category will receive trophies and cash prizes worth 100,000 pesos for the Best Film, 50,000 pesos for the second prize, and 30,000 pesos for the third prize.

One entry will also win the Viewers’ Choice award, which will be given to the entry with the highest number of votes during the film screening period at various DOST events, amounting to 20,000 pesos.

For more information, contact Ms. Candy Ilaw at 88371925 or 88372071 local 2384 or visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/indiesiyensya.