๐ฟ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐! ๐๐ฟ
In celebration of this month โ and in honor of the recently concluded ๐ฝ๐๐ฉ ๐ผ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ and ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต last October โ the Department is thrilled to share some of our amazing student works! ๐ฆโจ
๐ซ Take a moment to read, reflect, and be inspired by our studentsโ creativity and passion for the environment. Hereโs our first featured entry! ๐๐
Bat conservation initiatives must consider both the ecological and social aspects to address the specific needs of local bat populations and human communities. To contribute to this, graduate student Joseph Lemuel Asinas documented bat species diversity and indigenous community perspectives in Tuba, Benguet, Cordillera Administrative Region. This was primarily aimed at providing scientific information and developing recommendations for localized bat conservation.
Their study recorded eight, 8, bat species, including a first record of ๐๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐จ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด๐ถ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด, ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ด, and a roost of ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ถ๐ด ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐น๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ฅ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ด for the province of Benguet, at an elevation of about 435โ690 masl. The cave bat colony, estimated to exceed a thousand individuals, is the largest documented in the province. This bat population, though large, is determined to cause a low extent of human-bat conflict within the community, with developed wildlife tolerance and low disease risk perception. Furthermore, locals demonstrated practical knowledge and positive attitudes toward bats that are not rooted in superstition.
The thriving bat population in Tuba underscores how the integration of practical knowledge and positive attitudes of the indigenous community toward wildlife can foster harmonious and sustainable coexistence between people and nature.
Mr Joseph Lemuel Asinas recently graduated from the MS Conservation and Restoration Ecology (MS CaRE) program of the Dept.
โ๏ธ JLA Asinas, YS Picpican, MT Bagangao
๐ผJLA Asinas, YS Picpican, JA Alviar
We support the Sustainable Development Goals
SDG-11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities); SDG-15 (Life on Land)