Seacology Launches New Projects
At the July meeting, Seacology's board of directors approved the following grants: $17,000 to cover the shipping costs needed to obtain over $400,000 of donated opthamological and medical supplies for Samoa. Samoan villagers have preserved over 65,000 acres of pristine rainforest in conjunction with Seacology. This highly leveraged grant is a small way of showing appreciation for this sacrifice.*
$10,000 to begin the process of establishing a 695-hectare nature preserve and park on Mt. Angavokely in Madagascar. Madagascar is one of the world's biodiversity "hotspots" and is experiencing destruction of its remaining forests at an alarming rate.
$8,000 to the Yap Institute of Natural Science to purchase equipment needed to document and publicize the endangered flora and fauna of this small Micronesian island. The Yap Institute has already been responsible for the passage of legislation protecting the island's endangered fruit bats.*
$25,000 challenge grant to construct an animal exclosure fence to protect the Pu'u o kali forest on Maui, Hawaii. This forest, located below the Haleakula crater, has been described in a scientific survey as "arguably the best remaining stand of native wiliwili forest in the world." This dryland forest, home to several endangered plant species, is being rapidly degraded by feral axis deer.
$35,000 grant with contingencies to provide surgical services to remote islands in Tonga. This grant will go toward securing the donation of medical equipment and chartering a yacht to travel to isolated villages to perform simple yet vital procedures. In exhange, the Kingdom of Tonga may set aside a remote island as a nature preserve.*
$1,500 to construct mooring buoys off the Tongan island of Vava'u. The ocean surrounding Vava'u is one of the premiere yachting areas in the entire South Pacific. Constant dropping of anchors is taking its toll on the area's coral reefs. This grant will enable volunteers to construct permanent mooring buoys, thereby eliminating the need to drop anchors on the reef.
* Financial support for asterisked projects is generously provided by the Nu Skin Force for Good Fund.
