THE CHAIR of the UST Department of Biological Sciences has been elected as the vice president of the Federation of Institutions for Marine and Freshwater Sciences (FIMFS).
Asst. Prof. Richard Thomas Pavia Jr., who will serve a three-year term, was picked during the organization’s annual convention hosted by UST, Eastern Samar State University and the University of Eastern Philippines on Oct. 21.
“My specific niche in marine biology is coral reef conservation via coral propagation and coral reef rehabilitation … As vice president, I now have the platform to make this philosophy known to a wider audience,” he told the Varsitarian.
Through small pilot projects, Pavia hopes to introduce coral propagation and preservation as alternatives in the conservation of the dwindling number of coral reefs in the Philippines.
He said he wants to strike a balance between “dry” research, or the production of studies and literature, and “wet” research, or actualizing these studies through fieldwork, projects and training.
“So much excellent research has been done by members of the federation, but very little gets to be translated into actual projects that benefit the environment and the communities that depend on them,” Pavia said.
FIMFS is a 53-year-old organization composed of public and private higher learning institutions devoted to sharing marine and freshwater sciences research. The University has been a member since 2019. Eduelle Jan T. Macababbad
