MANILA, Philippines - Far Eastern University’s “Save the Tamaraw Project” was recently given a special citation by the Management Association of the Philippines during the MAP CSR Leadership Challenge.
The project started in 2005 as the FEU Tamaraws Save the Tamaraws, an undertaking of the Tamaraw Volunteers (TAMVOL), the university student arm of Bisig Tamaraw which helps the university in its various outreach programs. The main goals of the program are to raise awareness and involve the whole community in the preservation of the tamaraw and to secure the continuous and stable existence of tamaraws in Mindoro.
Other than the annual tamaraw count, the university coordinates with the DENR and the officials of Mindoro on projects for the local people. It has undertaken studies such as an ecological study of the tamaraw’s habitat which aims to help in the development of a program to improve vegetation in the area. As part of their ecological and environmental studies, FEU faculty and students also analyzed how the Mangyans planted, collected, processed, and used plants.