Deputy Speaker and Antique lone District Rep. Loren Legarda has filed a resolution seeking to “honor the life and works” of German scientist Dr. Eberhard Curio, who was behind the conservation of several endangered species in the country.
The House leader extended her sympathies to the bereaved family of Curio.
Curio, who taught at the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany and became a visiting professor at the University of the Philippines System from 2014 to 2016, passed away on Sept. 11, 2020 in Bochum, Germany.
"The last time I saw him was last October in Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, where I delivered a presentation on the piña seda. He was a German national who worked in my home province and loved Antique. A mentor with a compassionate heart, he will surely be missed,” she said in a Twitter message.
Under House Resolution No. 1258, Legarda cited that in May 2003, the International Biographical Center in Cambridge, United Kingdom named Curio as its recipient of the “Scientist of the Year” Award, and in the same year, Curio was declared an adopted “son” of Brgy. Centro Norte, Pandan Antique through a resolution.
“His prolific conservation work has resulted in the protection of several endangered species, such as Visayan writhed-billed hornbill and the discovery of the Panay Monitor Lizard, in cooperation with the herpetologist Dr. Maren Gaulke,” she said.
According to her, the conservation works of Philippine Endemic Species Conservation Project (PESCP) under Curio was instrumental in the Declaration of Northwest Panay Peninsula-Natural Park (NWPP-NP) as a protected area under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992, with an area of 12,009.289 hectares.
Curio was the founder, scientific adviser, and president of Philippine Initiative for Conservation of Environment and the People (Philincon), originally named as the PESCP. PESCP was established in 1995, with the support of the Frankfurt Zoological Society.
"Through this reso I filed, I wish to honor the life and works of Dr. Eberhard Curio, who worked passionately for my home province of Antique, having conducted extensive research in the Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park,” Legarda said.
She said for more than 20 years, Curio had been the pioneer in the conduct of research in the Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park
“His invaluable contribution to the country’s conservation efforts will always be extolled and remembered, most especially by the Antiqueños,” read House Resolution No. 1258.
Since 1998, Dr. Curio has been a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, it provides.
The two-page resolution also noted that the Curio had conducted in many countries, such as Southern Macedonia (1958), Spain (1960), Galapagos Islands in Ecuador (1962 to 1963), Jamaica (1969), Panama (1979), Tonga (1990), Fiji (1990 to 1991), and the Philippines (1993).