New Island Projects Approved by Seacology's Board of Directors
Date: 1-Feb-2010
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The following projects were approved by Seacology’s Board of Directors at their January 23, 2010 meeting:
COOK ISLANDS, Muri Lagoon, Rarotonga - Renovation and upgrading of the village meeting house and re-roofing of the health clinic in Muri Village in exchange for the establishment of a 413-acre conservation area for a duration of 10 years. Situated on the southern side of Rarotonga, Muri is a popular holiday resort; the beach and lagoon are used extensively by both visitors and Cook Islanders for recreation. The community has requested assistance in upgrading their meeting house to a multi-purpose standard (cyclone evacuation center, cultural arts center, gymnasium, health care, etc.). Seacology will help fund the renovating and upgrading of the village meeting house and health clinic; in exchange, the Muri community will declare 413 acres of the lagoon and surrounding area as a protected area for a duration of 10 years. With the exception of food fish for community use only, a prohibition on harvesting all coral, marine biodiversity, marine mammals, bird and mammals that inhabit the islet will be enforced; sand mining of the beach will also be prohibited. *
KENYA, Funzi Island - Construction of a display facility/office for conservation and ecotourism programs in exchange for sea turtle conservation activities for a minimum duration of 10 years. Funzi Island is located off the Kenyan South Coast and has a population of about 1,500 inhabitants. The island plays host to an array of ecosystem types including undisturbed coastal wetlands, mangrove forests, swaying palms, sandy beaches, creeks, estuary and undisturbed lowland coastal mixed forests. Five sea turtle species - Leatherback, Loggerhead, Green, Hawksbill and Olive ridley turtle – are found foraging or nesting on and around the island. Poaching, habitat degradation, soil erosion, destructive fishing practices, incidental capture and development are threats to these sea turtles. Working with the Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee (KESCOM), Seacology will fund construction of a display facility which will also serve as an office for the Funzi Turtle Club’s activities, as well as support for community based-sea turtle monitoring activities, nest protection and translocation, adoption of tagged nesting turtles and turtle release programs. There will also be eco-tourism activities including developing turtle souvenirs - earrings, doormats and turtle models - from flip flop sandals washed ashore. Conservation activities will take place in a 15,073-acre area including both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, that serve as important feeding and nesting sites of the five locally-found species of turtles.
MADAGASCAR, Manafiafy – Reintroduction and monitoring of 3,000 critically endangered palms; environmental education in two village schools; and construction of a permanent research monitoring station, kitchen, and guard house in support of the protection of 1,038 acres of rare littoral (coastal) forest. Madagascar, the fourth largest island in the world, has been recognized as one of the world’s top eight mega-biodiversity countries with some of the planet’s most threatened ecosystems. Approximately 80% of Madagascar’s plants and animals are endemic. Unfortunately, more than 90% of Madagascar's original forest cover has been lost since the time of human arrival, only 2,300 years ago. In 2005, the nonprofit organization Azafady successfully completed their previous Seacology funded-project with the construction of tree nurseries, and camps for workers and volunteers, for local community monitoring of a rare littoral forest. Azafady's current main environmental program, called Project Voly Hazo (“planting trees”), includes the reintroduction of two critically endangered endemic palm species grown in the Seacology-funded nurseries: Dypsis saintelucei and Beccariophoenix madagascariensis into the 1,038-acre S17 coastal forest fragment. With Seacology’s assistance, Azafady will transport, replant, and monitor these palms while also conducting environmental education related to this project in several local schools. To facilitate long-term monitoring, they also plan to build a permanent research station, kitchen and guard house, as requested by the community during a public consultation when designating the protected areas. Funded by Seacology Germany.
MEXICO, Guadalupe Island, Baja California Pacific – Sea water desalination system in exchange for a 1,235-acre marine reserve for a duration of 10 years. Guadalupe Island, with a total land area of 80,000 acres, is one of the most remote islands of Mexico. The island’s only community is mostly fishermen and their families who have been using the island for decades, fishing lobster and diving abalone. Guadalupe Island has one of the best preserved marine environments of Mexico. Since the decree in 2007 of the “Guadalupe Island Biosphere Reserve”, the management and regulated protection of its natural resources is under the federal authority of the Natural Protected Areas Commission. Guadalupe Island is one of the best examples in the world of an ongoing island ecosystem recovery where different entities (governmental and nonprofit) are participating. A water desalination plant is the local community's most urgent need. A desalinization system will be purchased with the help of Seacology in exchange for the creation and protection of a 1,235-acre marine reserve for a period of 10 years, where fishing, extraction of resources, damage to the sea floor, contamination or any other kind of damage is forbidden. The desalination system will be able to supply as much as 3,000 gallons per day. The water supply could also support reforestation and restoration projects, particularly in the remaining patches of endemic forest. In 2000 and 2002, Seacology funded projects to construct and maintain fences to keep invasive goats out of the most sensitive areas containing endemic plant species. Goats have since been eradicated from the island.
PHILIPPINES, Cabilao Island, Bohol - Renovation and conversion of a Spanish-era lighthouse into a Tourism Information Center, in exchange for the creation of an additional 50 acres of Marine Protected Area. Cabilao is one of the two islands in the Municipality of Loon in the westernmost municipality of Bohol Province in central Philippines. Marine resources abound in the waters surrounding Cabilao. Hammerhead sharks, pygmy seahorses, as well as hard and soft corals of various species have made the island a must-see, especially for scuba divers. At present, there are two marine protected areas (no-take zones) around the island. At Baluarte Point in the village of Pantudlan, a Spanish-era lighthouse has long been abandoned, even before a modern solar-powered one was constructed beside it. Near this part of the island is the most frequented dive spot. Tourism-related activities are therefore concentrated in and around this place, and the lighthouse is potentially an ideal venue for tourism information and a display area for local island products, if renovated and converted for this purpose. The lighthouse itself is an item of interest as it is a direct link to the island's colonial past. In exchange for funding from Seacology for the renovation and conversion of their lighthouse, Cabilao Island’s five villages will protect an additional 50 acres of marine area (an extension of 25 acres on each of the existing Marine Protected Areas) for at least 20 years. Funded by Seacology Japan.
YAP, Qokaaw and Kadaay – Watershed rehabilitation, surveillance equipment and a project operation center in exchange for a 46-acre no-take pristine mangrove sanctuary in perpetuity. The scenic and culturally pristine villages of Qokaaw and Kadaay are located in Weloy municipality on the West coast of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. These communities have already taken an active interest in conservation with the establishment of the 192-acre Nimpal Channel Marine Conservation Area (MCA). The communities are aware that conserving mangrove areas around the Nimpal Channel MCA is key to reducing run-off and providing habitat for juvenile fishes. With this in mind, they are proposing to preserve a 46-acre area of pristine mangrove, adjacent to the MCA. This particular forest survived Typhoon Sudal and contains at least four of the main five genera of mangroves in Yap. In exchange for setting aside the Qokaaw and Kadaay Mangrove Reserve in perpetuity, Seacology will fund rehabilitation of some areas of the watershed that have become choked with fallen logs and branches; improvement of surveillance of the Nimpal Channel and mangrove reserve areas, including repairs to an existing surveillance platform, construction of a new one and purchase of a kayak to support surveillance efforts in the reserves; and construction of a project operation and storage center on the shore adjacent to the two reserves. The villages of Qokaaw and Kadaay are steeped in tradition and this project is seen as having important cultural and social benefits for communities who have taken unilateral steps to protect their natural heritage.
*Support for asterisked projects is provided fully or in part by the
Nu Skin Enterprises Force for Good Foundation
