Biodiversity Expeditions

My Scholarship entry - Biodiversity of Mindanao Island

Philippines | Friday, October 31, 2014 | 5 photos

I am a teacher and part of a young biodiversity research team in Mindanao Island, Philippines and one of my roles in the team is to photograph the diverse flora and fauna of our research areas. Being a researcher and photographer is a tough yet very rewarding job especially when the end results is conservation. The Philippines is one of the 17 mega-diverse country in the world with the highest number of endemicity per unit area. In fact we have Mt. Hamiguitan as UNESCO World Heritage because of its high biodiversity However, our country is one of the biodiversity hottest of hotspot with the very alarming rate loss of natural ecosystems and species extinctions due to anthropogenic factors. One of the best ways to promote coservation is through education and one of the best ways to educate the people is by allowing the different plants, animals and landscapes to tell their stories through photographs. By being chosen as a scholar I will have the life changing experiences of being trained by Jason Edwards who will shares priceless lessons to me so I can better capture the story of Philippine especially Mindanao Island biodiversity and landscape and thus promote conservation.