MEDINILLA theresae, a new edaphic-endemic species in Dinagat and Mindanao islands, was named after Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim, executive director of Asean Centre for Biodiversity.
“I am truly honored and grateful for this recognition. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our taxonomists, scientists and researchers who continue their hard work in discovering new species. I believe that taxonomy is a vital step in conservation simply because you cannot conserve what you do not know,” Lim said.
“The number of species awaiting discovery far outweigh those that have been studied. Millions of plants and animals have yet to be studied and may hold tremendous potential as sources of food, medicine, and other benefits to humans,” she added.
Lim, a staunch wildlife advocate and former director of the Philippines’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB), also served as chairman of the Asean Wildlife Enforcement Network and chairman of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The terrestrial, erect, cauliflorous shrub found in ultramafic soils stands up to 1.5 meters tall. To date, this species is only known to be found on Mount Redondo, Dinagat Island, and on Mount Hamiguitan, both located in Mindanao.
Renowned taxonomists, professors and researchers from the University of the Philippines —Dr. Edwino Fernando, Dr. Perry Ong, Dr. Peter Quakenbush and Dr. Edgardo Lillo—were the men behind the species discovery.
According to the CBD, in a world populated with more than 30 million species, taxonomists have identified only about 1.78 million species of animals, plants and microorganisms in 250 years of research. It is estimated that only 10 percent of vertebrates remain to be described, but greater than 50 percent of terrestrial arthropods and up to 95 percent of protozoa are undescribed.
The sheer number of species that have yet to be discovered requires an army of scientists, each with their own area of expertise, to identify, name, classify and study the millions of species on Earth.
The issue is compounded by the unprecedented rate of global biodiversity loss due to habitat degradation, unsustainable use, pollution, climate change and other pressures. These pressures increase the risk of extinction of vulnerable species and it is certain that some species are already lost even before they are named and described.
The ACB was established in 2005 by the Asean member-states as a response to biodiversity loss in the region. The center supports and coordinates the implementation of activities in the Asean leading to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, for the benefit of the region and the Asean member-states.
Image credits: Dr. Edwino Fernando, Angie Metin