PH mourns death of eco champ

British zoologist helped save many endemic wildlife species through conservation efforts, art

TRIBUTES continue to pour into social and traditional media for conservationist and artist William Oliver, a British national who worked with local groups and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for years to promote more effective protection of Philippine endemic wildlife and their habitats.

Oliver passed away on Sept. 9 at the Makati Medical Center. During the two decades he worked in the Philippines, he was credited for saving the Philippine Spotted Deer, the Visayan Warty Pig, the Negros Bleeding Heart Pigeon and the Visayan Tarictic Hornbill from extinction. Worldwide, he was known for saving the Pygmy hog.

Lisa Paguntalan, director of field operations of the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc. (PBCFI), wrote on her Facebook page: “We will dearly miss you, William Langley Richardson Oliver. Thank you for everything you've done for Philippines and for the conservation of threatened and endemic species of the world”

Oliver, who died at 67, was PBCFI’s director for programme development and conservation partnerships.

Talisay City Councilor Rafael Coscolluela of Negros Occidental said Oliver brought to global attention the importance of Philippine biodiversity.

“He was instrumental in developing and implementing the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Programme, and eventually in establishing PBCFI, along with other conservation organizations in the country such as the Biodiversity Conservation Foundations in Mindoro, Polillo Islands and Cebu Province,” said Coscolluela.

Former senator Juan Miguel Zubiri wrote in the Facebook group, In Memoriam: William Oliver, that the British zoologist helped him craft legislation on the environment and wildlife conservation. “His death is a big loss to our fight to save our endemic species,” he said.

Anna Maria M. Gonzales of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines recalled Oliver’s suggestion to use artworks and toys to promote the protection of Philippine hornbills.

Oliver also painted the Cebu flowerpecker to raise awareness about the species, which was feared to have become extinct until sighted in 1992 in the Tabunan Forest. Until mid2000, Cebu conservationists did not have photos of the shy songbird.

Oliver also made the artworks of wildlife species in the "Only in the Philippines" poster series launched by the DENR.