Toyota PH partners with DENR to support Tamaraw conservation

Toyota Motor Philippines Foundation (TMPF), the social and humanitarian arm of Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMP), recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to support the Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP).

The planned partnership will address Philippine biodiversity conservation efforts towards protecting the critically endangered Tamaraw species and its habitat. The signing ceremony was led by DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, TMP president Masando Hashimoto, and TMPF president Jose Maria Aligada on the sidelines of the next-generation Tamaraw grand public launch on December 6 in Makati City.

Under the MOU, TMPF will donate a brand new Tamaraw vehicle and half-a-million-peso worth of “Bantay Tamaraw” kits for ranger gear and supplies. The resources will help the Bantay Tamaraw rangers conduct regular patrols at all known Tamaraw sites.

On top of in-kind donations, TMPF pledges a PHP 3 million conservation fund for other key program initiatives, including Tamaraw habitat monitoring and research, support programs for barangay and Indigenous Peoples (IP) volunteers, equipping of the Tamaraw Research and Conservation Center, and other Communication, Education, and Public Awareness (CEPA) activities such as the national Tamaraw Month observation.

The TCP was created on July 9, 1979, under Executive Order No. 544 under the Office of the President, as the government's arm in protecting the Tamaraw. In 1987, it became a banner initiative under the DENR. The program aims to save the animal from extinction by addressing the several factors threatening its population and habitat.

The Tamaraw or Bubalus mindorensis is a dwarf buffalo endemic to the Mindoro Island in the Philippines. It was classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as critically endangered with 500 to 600 individuals remaining in the wild as of 2024.