Seacology Island Environment Blog

You are probably thinking, what does baseball or wrestling have to do with Seacology? The tale begins a little over one month ago when former development assistant Ellen Kamoe suggested nominating me for the All-Stars Among Us (ASAU) contest. This is a joint promotion by People Magazine and Major League Baseball (MLB). The purpose of ASAU is to find 30 individuals who are helping people and causes around the world, one to represent each Major League Baseball team. The nominations would be culled by the editors of People and representatives from MLB. Three finalists would be selected for each team and there would be a two week period of public voting. I told Ellen I was flattered by the thought but please don't spend more than a few minutes of your time nominating me as I doubt if I would have much of a chance of winning a national contest.

According to the Lonely Planet guide, "Among the 115 islands that make up the Seychelles are some of the most beautiful island getaways in the Indian Ocean, or indeed the world. Here you can find the lush tropical paradise you may have seen in seductive advertisements." The group of islands around Mahe (home of the international airport and the capital city of Victoria) are made of granite while the remaining islands are coralline atolls. The Seychelles lie 1,600 kilometers off of East Africa, its nearest neighbor. As a result of this isolation the Seychelles are rich in rare plants which flourish nowhere else on the planet. Perhaps the most famous of these is the coco de mer, the world's largest coconut weighing as much as 20 kg. In addition to their prodigious size the coco de mer is famous for its rather erotic shape (pictured right). I will let readers' imaginations run wild on this but if you want to see this coconut in person head for the beautiful Vallee de Mai on the island of Praslin. I recently led a Seacology group to visit the Seychelles and some of us are still blushing after seeing these rather evocative coconuts. The Seychelles visitors bureau knows a good thing when it sees one and the coco de mer not only appears on posters and brochures everywhere but the Seychelles official passport stamp is in the shape of this naughty coconut.

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that, as far as conserving biodiversity goes, Seacology is on the right track. The species richness on islands is 8 to 9 times greater than that of mainland environments according to this study performed by Holger Kreft and colleagues at the University of Bonn, UC San Diego and the University of Applied Sciences Eberswalde. To read more about this fascinating topic please see the associated article, Islands top a global list of places to protect, as well as the actual study, A global assessment of endemism and species richness across island and mainland regions.

Growing up in the Philippines, tornados, hurricanes, and the floods that would follow were a common occurrence in my childhood. In the rainy season (between July to December), it would not be uncommon for low-lying areas of my island (called Panay, in the Western Visayas Region) to have floods as high as four meters. Can you imagine Katrina happening every year? During intense hurricanes, people living in these areas would be in a rush to get everything out of their houses to be taken to higher ground. Anything that could be carried, including refrigerators, TV sets, etc, are immediately taken out. One time, a cousin of mine was in such a mad rush to leave that he forgot his pregnant wife in the bedroom (he came back to get her of course). More recently, people back home have also been complaining to me about the intense heat. When I visited about a year and a half ago, I myself noticed that the temperature was much higher than when I was living there only 5 or 6 years previous.

 

Seacology is a dedicated environmental/humanitarian organization with an important global mission. In particular, my job as development director is pretty intense. I need to make bank for a lot of projects and programs for some of the most economically impoverished people in the world. It's hard work, but there is a healthy dose of fun involved. It's a well known fact that the best way to fundraise is to raise fun. Seacology is good at this because we take it seriously.

Part of my job is throwing parties for a living. Well not really, but sometimes it feels that way. This is especially true when I get a chance to collaborate on interesting events with generous, cause-oriented people, which I do several times a year.

Each fall we hold an event in San Rafael, California, called "Marin's Glorious Glass Pumpkin Harvest." One of our creative board members and his significant other conceived this event in 2007. Their aim was to raise funds for Seacology, make money for a small coterie of talented glass-blowing artists, bring exposure to an historic regional facility and develop an annual family event. They hit their target. The result is a gorgeous, two-day public "pumpkin patch" that feels an awful lot like a big block party with a purpose. Held on the lawns of a Victorian mansion known as the Falkirk Cultural Center, this event takes place during the most beautiful time of the year in Northern California. Many thanks to Kimo and Kerry. If you are in the area this October, we invite you to drop by.

Because it is close to Europe the Red Sea attracts more dive boats than any other region of the world. The Red Sea's frequent encounters with thresher and hammerhead sharks and the beauty of its hard and soft corals help account for its popularity. However, if not managed well, too many divers and dive boats could ironically help destroy this beautiful dive destination. Every time a boat drops an anchor on a coral reef a large section of the reef is damaged. Multiply this by the large number of boats in the Red Sea every day and the potential for significant damage is great. However, by tying up to mooring buoys, boats no longer have to drop anchor.

To help preserve this beautiful marine environment a local ngo called HEPCA has installed the world's largest mooring buoy system. Nonetheless more mooring buoys were needed around five islands in the 494,100 acre marine reserve adjacent to Wadi El Gemal (Land of the Camel) National Park off the Egyptian coast of the Red Sea. Seacology, an international ngo with the sole purpose of preserving the environments of islands throughout the globe, provided the funding needed to help HEPCA install 25 mooring buoys in the Wadi El Gemal area.

Last month at the office, the water cooler ran out and we had to wait three days for a fresh supply. To avoid the dreaded tap water, I brought two water bottles to work, filled with filtered water from home. This got me thinking about how this ubiquitous office perk is such a big deal, while we in the US have perfectly safe tap water. In fact, Seacology has provided 14 fresh water delivery systems to communities that do not have safe and reliable sources of drinking water.

In many places around the world, safe water is impossible to find. When I lived in Samoa, the campus had a filtering system and we boiled or treated our water with iodine. It wasn't as dire as in Uganda, where I brushed my teeth with mouthwash instead of water. And travelers can barely touch an ice cube or fruit juice in countries like Mexico and India. The picture at right illustrates one of the problems water shortages can cause: here, a boy in West Bengal, India is pumping water in a flooded area. The Water Encyclopedia says that "floodwaters can contaminate cisterns and improperly designed wells, compounding problems caused by river currents and inundation." And yet here in the United States, we hardly consider what it would be like to live without our tap water - and we still buy expensive bottled water because "it tastes better" or we like the commercials or the pretty packaging.

In August 2008 a Seacology group traveled to Fiji to open two new projects. In Ketei Village, located on the Fijian island of Vanua Levu Seacology funded the construction of a community center in exchange for the creation of a 900-acre forest reserve. Our visit to Ketei began with a traditional kava ceremony. Kava is the ground up root of a pepper plant which acts as a calming agent. It has been the center of Fijian traditional life for hundreds of years. (Right, water is being poured into a kava bowl to begin the kava ceremony.)

2008 marked the inaugural year of Seacology Germany, our first affiliate in Europe. The creation of this chapter of Seacology was spearheaded by board director, Peter Pistor. Peter grew up in West Berlin and his profession led him to the USA, where he settled in Los Angeles. He returns to Berlin each year for business during the summer with his lovely American wife, Zina, and their two very active young sons.

Peter has been on Seacology's board of directors since 2003 and has a real passion for Seacology. He knew it would resonate with the German psyche because of their love for traveling to faraway lands (wanderlust!), natural affection for animals and keen awareness of and interest in the environment. As a nation, they even have a Green Party which is, amazingly, already 28 years old.

One of the benefits of speaking other languages is that you are sometimes given unique opportunities. Because I speak German and am acquainted with the culture, I've been asked to serve on the board of Seacology Germany, a task I relish. The fledgling operation is made up of a handful of dedicated Germans headquartered in Berlin who feel compelled to make a difference in solving environmental challenges worldwide.

After three days of sitting out the typhoon during my recent trip to the Philippines, our Philippines Field Representative Ferdie Marcelo and I flew to the beautiful island of Palawan.

After overnighting in Roxas, Ferdie and I met with representatives from project partner SIBAT and drove to Barangay Bagong Bayan. This remote village has a true "ridge to reef" ecosystem. With SIBAT's expertise, Seacology is funding the rehabilitation of a micro-hydro power plant. After meeting with community leaders, we viewed the non-functioning powerhouse. There is a nearby ice plant, which when powered will make a dramatic difference to local fisherman who will be able to chill their catches to keep fish fresh longer for marketability. The power plant also has an herb dryer, which when functional will enable community members to dry medicinal herbs to sell.

The Bangong Bayan watershed (right) is truly beautiful. The source for the microhydro system is above a lovely waterfall. The catchment at the top was not configured to maximize flow, so community members are working on that while they wait for generator parts to arrive. After staying back in Roxas for a night, Ferdie and I traveled to El Nido, on the northern tip of Palawan. I had heard for years about the beauty of this area, and stunning Bacuit Bay with its dramatic limestone islands and turquoise water.