Suwag o Suko? Conserving tamaraws and empowering the rangers who protect them
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2019 16:58:28 +0000
Representatives from different sectors came together to witness how the Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP) and Mounts Iglit-Baco Natural Park (MIBNP) rangers risk their lives to protect the tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis), a wild buffalo found solely on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines. It is among the world’s most endangered animals, considered critically-endangered and just a step above extinction in the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species.
To raise both awareness and funds for tamaraw conservation, the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) partnered with TCP plus a talented group of storytellers for a documentary entitled Suwag o Suko: Saving the Tamaraw from Extinction.
“Suwag o Suko is a love letter to the tamaraw rangers and everyone working in conservation. It was made with local audiences in mind because we want to instill a sense of pride, shared identity and ownership for our natural heritage,” explains Celine Murillo, who wrote the script with director Mark Ace Gatdula and other pro bono volunteers. The hour-long documentary examines the economic, social and cultural significance of the tamaraw and how its survival is invariably tied to the management of the MIBNP, its indigenous mangyan tribes, plus the continuous conservation efforts of rangers.
Tamaraw Month is celebrated each October. We herald this unique, biologically-important and culturally-significant animal. We must spread awareness for conservation,” says DENR TCP Coordinator Neil Anthony del Mundo.
Canon Philippines, Tamron, Benro, Eco Explorations and the Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation pitched in to make the film possible.
For more information, email biofin.ph@undp.org.