The week of March 18 to 22 was a very busy and productive one with the visit of our international partners, James Burton, chair of IUCN Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group, and Fiona Sach and Teague Stubington from Zoological Society of London.
Their visit was dedicated to move forwards with the Feasibility Study (FS) for assessing if translocation and conservation breeding of tamaraw could be a useful solution to preserve the species.
A two-day workshop was organized to gather in the same room the entire FS team composed of DAF team, DENR officers and academe vet.
Using the Structure Decision Making (SDM) process, we explored criterias and formulated strategies that could achieve the fundamental objectives set during the previous FS workshop in October 2023, namely (1) optimize tamaraw survival, (2) ensure alignment with welfare and values of indigenous people and (3) optimize cost and impact.
A very lively and productive brainstorming which will lead to next steps with the testing of the alternative strategies and their comparison between each other.
The week culminated with a visit to the DENR Regional Director to present the status and progress of the FS as well as other matters in supporting tamaraw conservation.
Thanks to local and international partners for their dedication and hard work in this endeavor!
