Island Update Spring/Summer 2018 • VOL. 20, NO. 1 Protecting the unique habitats and cultures of islands worldwide

IN THIS ISSUE Letter from the Chair...... 2

Personnel...... 2

Help us save parrotfish...... 3

Our work on Borneo...... 3

Project updates...... 4-5

New projects...... 6

Seacology supporters...... 7

Seacology earns top score from Charity Navigator Not only is Seacology committed to environmental stewardship, A greener Hispaniola we’re also careful stewards of our donors’ contributions. Seacology Seacology’s first projects in the has again been awarded four Hispaniola Montecristi Province stars by nonprofit-rating service Dominican Republic protect Las Garitas Charity Navigator—its highest score. This recognition reflects , support our commitment to fiscal responsibility and transparency, Haiti Dominican Republic ast year, Seacology began working in Caracol two of our organization’s core Bay the Dominican Republic in a big way by values. Lsimultaneously launching our first three projects there. The initiatives, at Montecristi, Las Garitas, and Oviedo Lagoon, will each help to protect Oviedo Lagoon Save the date for the 2018 habitats and develop sustainable tourism. Seacology Prize Ceremony The Dominican Republic makes up roughly the The 2018 Seacology Prize eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, sharing Seacology has three active projects Ceremony will be held Thursday, on the Atlantic northern coast of October 4 in Berkeley, California. it with the nation of Haiti (where Seacology also has the island of Hispaniola, and one a project, at Caracol Bay). Its diverse topography on the Caribbean southern coast. We hope you’ll join us to honor features four major mountain ranges, coasts on Copyright © Free Vector Maps.com an inspiring island conservation the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, and many conservation movement. The organizations we’re leader. The winner of this year’s ecologically important rivers and watersheds. working with—Grupo Jaragua, Agrofrontera, and prize will be announced over the CEBSE—have a strong record of working to protect summer in our e-newsletter and The country’s economy is undergoing a rapid the lush wetlands that ring the country’s coast. at seacology.org/prize. transition away from agriculture and toward services, tourism in particular. And for good In Montecristi Province, near the border with Haiti, Share your best island reason. The Dominican Republic has beautiful our project is funding training for local youth, who beaches, dense jungle, exciting nightlife, and a are learning to become kayak guides. They’ll also photos—and so will we! rich culture with Afro-Caribbean, Latin American, learn other relevant skills such as basic accounting Calling all photographers: and other roots. Tourism, now the largest sector of and customer service. The area is home to some Seacology invites you to share the economy, brings in millions of visitors annually 15,000 acres of mangrove forest and has less tourism your best island photos with us and accounts for hundreds of thousands of jobs. than does much of the country. By establishing this for a chance to have your work With this surge in attention from abroad comes link between the and the economic shared in our publications and increased pressure on the environment, particularly opportunities from ecotourism, our project is on our daily Instagram feed. along the coasts. Our projects aim to encourage helping the local community to see conservation Please email your shot to sustainability as the country undergoes this massive as an asset and not a barrier to opportunity. [email protected] or tag us transformation. in a post on social media and use the hashtag #islandphotos. We will Fortunately, the DR has a robust, well-organized Continued on page 7 of course credit any work we use. 2

From the Chair Dear friends, iving for two years in small island villages in , I was struck by the relationships the indigenous Lpeople perceived between the land and the sea. Elderly Samoans told me that every terrestrial SEACOLOGY organism, plant or animal, has a spiritual counterpart in the ocean. Subsequently, the Polynesian people gave me a name that memorializes this linkage: , after a cultural hero who came from the sea but Board of Directors Donald M. Arntz taught the people to protect the . Even Polynesian land tenure systems reflect the link between Michael Burbank, President the terrestrial and marine environments of islands. Chiefs are charged with protecting entire watersheds , Ph.D., Chair Scott S. Halsted (called in the Hawaiian language “ahupua’a”), which stretch from the mountain tops to the coral reefs. Douglas Herst, Vice President Suzanna Jamieson, Treasurer Modern ecological theory has now validated these indigenous concepts. Scientists have learned that Masayuki Kishimoto when watersheds are deforested, silt and debris cover and kill the coral reefs. And we now know if Barbara Meyer Ken Murdock, Vice Chair communities or coastal mangrove forests are destroyed, coastal areas become extremely Kimberly Myers Hewlett vulnerable to devastation from cyclonic storms and . Shari Sant Plummer, Vice President Peter Read The interconnection among the land and the sea and the indigenous people—what might be termed Kristin M. Reed, Vice President Michael Staffieri the ecological triangle—has deeply informed our approach to conservation. As you will read in this Sandie Tillotson, Vice President newsletter, Seacology conservation projects from to to Kenya Jake Walker Marsha Garces Williams to the Dominican Republic reflect our commitment to protect coastal areas, interior , and . Even our name, Seacology, reflects Scientific Advisory Board the ties between marine and terrestrial . Bill Marré, who coined our Paul Alan Cox, Ph.D. name and helped to found our organization, recently passed away doing what , Ph.D. he loved: surfing the interface between the sea and the beach. , Ph.D. Thomas Elmqvist, Ph.D. Robert Jansen, Ph.D. We are determined to make a difference in protecting the special link between John McCosker, Ph.D. the sea and the land. Seacology continues to make significant strides in island John Ogden, Ph.D. Elizabeth Pierson, Ph.D. conservation. Thank you for your gifts, which help Seacology protect island William E. Rainey, Ph.D. habitats and cultures throughout the world. Peter H. Raven, Ph.D. E.O. Wilson, Ph.D. Sincerely, Staff Duane Silverstein Executive Director

Nafanua Paul Alan Cox Kevin Claassen Accounting Manager Chair, Seacology Board of Directors Joseph Clerici Communications Associate Erin Coyne Institutional Giving Officer Christina Oraftik Program Assistant Seacology welcomes... Karen Peterson Erin Coyne Institutional Giving Officer Senior Manager of Special Initiatives

Erin Coyne comes to Seacology with a longtime passion for international development, Mary Randolph Program Manager having served as a Peace Corps volunteer as well as a program manager for several international nonprofit organizations. She has extensive experience in project Kathryn Selvidge management and a dedication to ensuring that innovative programs are funded and Development Director sustainable. Originally from the East Coast, Erin moved to the Bay Area over 10 years ago to attend UC Berkeley, where she received an MA and a Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and doing volunteer work. She also enjoys traveling and learning about new places and cultures. Pisit Charnsnoh Field Representative 1623 Solano Avenue Pisit Charnsnoh is well-known in the environmental movement for his work to protect Berkeley, CA 94707 USA mangrove forests in his home country. A winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize in 510.559.3505 2002 and one of the co-founders of the Mangrove Action Project, he was one of the early [email protected] www.seacology.org high-profile advocates of defending mangrove forests. Since the mid-1980s, Pisit has facebook.com/seacology worked to unite disenfranchised fishing communities in Thailand. His persistence in this instagram.com/seacology_photos mission has resulted in meaningful government action to promote local management twitter.com/seacology of mangroves and other vital coastal resources. 3

Join Seacology’s first crowdfunding campaign! HEALTHY Help us save parrotfish—essential to coral reefs, REEFS and adorable, too—in Colombia

any divers and snorkelers know the sound well— Donor perks the crunch, crunch that M All donors who give $25 reverberates through the or more will be listed in water as parrotfish scrape our newsletter and on our rocks and reefs for algae with website. their hard, beaklike mouths. The colorful herbivores are $25 Thank you card and not only a fantastic attraction Seacology pin for underwater tourism, but also play a key role in keeping $50 Photo print of the coral reefs healthy. Hungry beautiful blue parrotfish parrotfish eat the harmful $100 Seacology canteen macroalgae that compete for space with corals, keeping Mark Yokoyama $250 Seacology t-shirt the ecosystem in balance. Too Parrotfish use their beaklike teeth to scrape algae from rocks and coral, keeping reefs clean $500 Seacology t-shirt and and in the process producing new sand. much algae can smother and tote bag ultimately kill a . A Unfortunately the parrotfish island’s fishing community, new Seacology project aims to are under threat. The declining local schools, restaurants, and $1000 VIP package protect algae’s mortal enemies, stocks of snapper and other the broader community. containing Seacology parrotfish—but we need your species, and the ease of merchandise and an item help. catching parrotfish in the This is also the first opportunity from a Seacology project shallower waters they inhabit, for donors to directly support $2,500 Become a Seacology The Caribbean island of have put pressure on their a Seacology project through Fellow—early access to Providencia is part of Colombia, populations. Though one of the crowdfunding. Launched on Seacology Prize ceremony but is far north of the country’s local fish-buying cooperatives Earth Day, our campaign runs and travel opportunities, VIP mainland, closer to Nicaragua. does not buy parrotfish, they through June and aims to raise gift bag with above items The island’s isolation has still frequently end up in the the $16,000 project budget. kept overdevelopment at local market, their fillets labeled Donors will receive some $10,000 Trip to Providencia bay, and its people are self- as other species. exclusive Seacology gifts as accompanied by a member reliant, making ends meet a token of our gratitude (see of the Seacology staff to see with small-scale agriculture, Together with the regional “donor perks”). the parrotfish campaign a modest amount of tourism, government and Fundación in action. Includes round- and fishing. Parrotfish— Providence, a local NGO, You can contribute any amount trip airfare, four nights’ including species rare in the Seacology is working to you wish at seacology.org/ accommodations and Caribbean—are abundant, implement a ban on taking parrotfish. We hope you’ll help snorkeling or diving. which has contributed to the parrotfish around Providencia. save the parrotfish, and the reef, More details available at island’s better-than-average We will be funding an education by contributing to and sharing seacology.org/parrotfish. reef health. and outreach campaign to the our campaign!

Seacology protects some of the world’s BORNEO most important—and threatened— PROJECTS rainforest in Malaysian Borneo

fter nearly a decade, Seacology has once At the villages of Mangkadait, Terian (the older again begun to launch new projects in project), and Long Liam, Seacology is working Athe southeast Asian country of Malaysia. to install or upgrade low-impact water-based Under the leadership of Field Representative infrastructure. The Terian and Long Liam projects Chris Wright, we’ve begun three new projects, involve micro-hydro generators—gravity-fed and revisited an older one, all on Borneo, the world’s third-largest island. Continued on page 6 4

With dozens of active projects around the world, PROJECT things are happening all the time. Here are UPDATES just a few highlights of the past several months.

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1 ORIKA, ISLA GRANDE, COLOMBIA Trash processing, recycling, and composting facility

The waste processing facility is under construction. A committee with people from the community and local NGO partner Islaunika meets regularly. They will be conducting outreach to island households to make sure everyone knows how to handle waste so that reusable materials can be sold for the community’s benefit.

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Sam Rowley Photography

ANTSAHABERAOKA, MADAGASCAR LODGE BOG, IRELAND Construction of a footbridge and primary Restoration of 86 acres of ecologically valuable school classrooms in exchange for support of a peatland and increased habitat for the Eurasian 4,819-acre rainforest reserve for 30 years curlew, environmental education for schoolchildren

Our partners report that the new, reinforced Our nonprofit partner, the Irish Peatland Conservation bridge has been completed. Children on the Council, has installed or reinforced 22 dams and other side of the river again have access to the planted mosses on Lodge Bog, to block drainage and village’s school. encourage peat formation. To get all this work done, the IPCC trained 20 volunteers, who will be able to use their new skills on other raised bogs that could also provide habitat for the threatened curlew. 5

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SII ISLAND, KENYA Construction of a watch tower and office, mangrove mapping and replantation, and community awareness, in support of the conservation of 1,977 acres of mangrove forest for 15 years

In February, the new office building was dedicated in an opening 6 ceremony in the village of Vanga, with prominent members of the local 5 4 and national governments in attendance. The new facility will bolster the efforts of local rangers to protect the island’s mangroves, and will 2 support ongoing planting and other activities.

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‘ATATA ISLAND, TONGA Rebuilding of community center, in support of 440- acre fish habitat reserve for 15 years SRI LANKA Nationwide mangrove conservation and mapping, Cyclone Gita, with sustained winds of 144 mph, caused support for sustainable livelihood training extensive damage in Tonga in February. The storm tore roofs off many houses and collapsed the Tongan Construction of the training center in the northern Parliament building. We were afraid of what might district of Mannar, funded by a large grant that happen to the unfinished ‘Atata community hall. But Seacology won from the Global Resilience Partnership, damage was minimal—meaning the building may is nearly complete. The demarcation work of Sri Lanka’s well serve as a storm shelter in the future. Although intact mangrove forests continues, and our partner the building project has been delayed as community organization, Sudeesa, is conducting regular planting members grapple with shortages of fresh water and events with the help of the Sri Lankan navy and other food, it will resume soon. supporters of the project. 6

In February, Seacology launched eight new projects, NEW including our first in Uruguay. For details on all of our work, PROJECTS past and present, visit seacology.org/projects.

Country Location Community benefit Environmental benefit Nabubu Village, Renovation and expansion of village 560-acre marine no-take zone and Vanua Levu school and teachers’ quarters, water 132-acre rainforest reserve for 15 years tanks

INDONESIA Mekarjaya Village, Rice-processing machinery and building Protection of 4,638 acres of rainforest West Java (including replanting 326 acres of it) for 15 years

MADAGASCAR Macolline Reserve Repairs to cyclone-damaged Protection of 25-acre rainforest preserve environmental education center for 30 years and environmental education

MALAYSIA Dagat Village, Sustainable livelihood initiative Protection of 550 acres of rainforest for 15 Borneo years

MALAYSIA Long Liam Village, Micro-hydro electricity generating Protection of 371-acre riparian forest Borneo system reserve for 15 years

MEXICO Isabel Island National Mooring buoys and lobster shelters 528-acre no-fishing zone around protected Park island for at least 18 years

PHILIPPINES Manamoc Island Multipurpose community center Protection of 272-acre Caseledan Lagoon for 25 years

URUGUAY Nuevo Berlin, Honey-extracting equipment and GPS Mapping of invasive trees to be removed Filomena Islands on islands in the Uruguay River

Borneo continued from page 3 turbines that provide reliable electricity in Borneo’s wet climate. At Mangkadait, we’re funding a 10-km pipeline to bring water to the village for drinking, cooking, and agriculture.

The fourth project, at Dagat Village, is a unique project for us. Seacology is funding a building that will serve as an artificial habitat for swiftlets—small birds whose nests are an ingredient for birds’ nest soup, a delicacy in parts of Asia. The building mimics the birds’ natural cave dwellings and the community plans to sell the nests (after the birds are done with them) as a renewable revenue source.

Famous for its iconic orangutans, Borneo is one of the great centers of in the world, with countless endemic plant and animal species. Our four projects will help local communities to protect 1,500 acres of this pristine habitat, and keep it off-limits to developers, large-scale agriculture interests and others who would sacrifice it for short-term gain. Villagers from Mangkadait prepare to install a pipeline that will carry fresh water to the village. 7

OUR SUPPORTERS

Chief Ulu Fellows Island Fellows ($10,000-$24,999) ($25,000 or more) Anonymous Friedman Family Foundation Mariposa Fund Albert Chao Robert and Rosemary Heil Anne Symchych Anonymous Robert Dion and Mary O’Malley Arthur Kern Paul and Leigh Tischler Argus Fund Robert Epstein and Amy Roth Maja Kristin Seacology Fellows ($2,500-$9,999) Alice and Leslie E. Lancy Foundation William and Eva Price Anonymous Edward Herbert and May Fung Ruth Selvidge and Philippe Moutarlier Suriyakumar Family Trust Yvonne Adams and Jeremy Green Thomas and Bonnie Herman Kathryn and Charley Selvidge Nadine Tang and Bruce Smith John and Betty Altman Michael Hofman and Janet Moyer Ruth Shapiro Stephen Silberstein Larry and Wendy Barels Reed Kathrein Duane Silverstein and Marcia Stewart Newman and Zeneth Ward Ward Family Linda Benge Suzanne Keith Judah Slavkovsky Foundation Renee Boicourt Murray and Jeanie Kilgour Barbara Sweet Iain Boltin John and Janet Kister Christine Symchych and James McNulty Pete and Ginny Boyce Annette Leckie Maria Taft Swanson Pete and Mimi Buckley David and Valerie London Cherri and Randall Tom Board of Directors Craig and Nana Chiappone Mary Love May and Paul Gabrielson Jake Warner and Toni Ihara Virginia and Peter Dimsey Brian and Caroline Lurie Todd Werby and Nonie Greene In 2017, all Seacology Board members Gordon Firestein and Doris Lang Mel McCombie and Harris Friedberg Wayne and Julissa Westerman made generous personal gifts. Board Kathryn Fox-Winokur Allen and Kim Meredith Gregory and Patti White contributions represent a significant Robert and Michelle Friend Taka Moriuchi/Axe Taka, Inc. Scott Wilson and Lucy Cummings portion of Seacology’s total fundraising. Markus Fromherz and Heike Schmitz Mark Murzin and Kris Knoernschild We are most grateful for the generosity Theodore and Frances Geballe Michael Neidorf Seacology is fortunate to receive many gifts and leadership of each Seacology Board Ian Glascock Patagonia.com under $2,000. Space limitations prevent us member. John and Marcia Goldman Matsuno Kuhara Patrick from listing the name of each donor, but Nan Guslander Buffy Redsecker and Alan Chung we deeply appreciate every contribution to Esmond Harmsworth Charitable John and Pauline Ryan Seacology. Each gift we receive is important Foundation Rand and Carol Selig to our efforts to protect the world’s islands. Terri Hearsh Charles and Susan Selvidge

Island Legacy Society Members of the Island Legacy Society have made a commitment to protecting islands by making a planned gift .

Anonymous Kathleen Goetten* Mr. Raleigh Klein Duane Silverstein and Marcia Stewart Frank W. and Margaret B. Adelstein Fund Hank and Jane Goichman Ken Murdock Rose and Arthur Silverstein Marie-Louise Ansak Mr. G. Morgan Griffin Mark Murzin and Krista Knoernschild Memorial Fund* Larry and Wendy Barels Charitable Trust Craig Grube Dana Nojima and Elaine Lyford-Nojima Mr. Lindley S. Sloan Michael Burbank and Cindy Roberts Scott Halsted Matsuno Kuhara Patrick Michael and Marilyn Staffieri Family Trust Kimo Campbell* Doug and Leni Herst Mickey Petersen Charitable Fund Sandie N. Tillotson Foundation Paul and Barbara Cox Michael N. Hofman and Janet Moyer Peter Pistor Cindy and Richard Troop Rosalind Douglas Trust* Hotham Family Trust John C. and Susan C. Racanelli James L. Walker, IV Graham Farrar Living Trust Cynthia Hubach, Gordon Radley Alex Weinstein, MD and Betty Helton, MD Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence Feigenbaum* in memory of Richard A. Hubach James and Gretchen Sandler Herbert A. West Kathryn Fox-Winokur Carlton A. Hubbell Trust* Shari Sant Plummer Erin West Susan Friedman Suzanna Jamieson Guy and Jeanine Saperstein Greg and Pat White Christy Gavitt Sara Katz Joseph and Catherine Scalzo Marsha Garces Williams Eliot Girsang and Richard Wilson Masayuki Kishimoto Mr. and Mrs. Randolph Selig * Deceased

Dominican Republic continued from page 1

Oviedo Lagoon, a remote, even larger is closer to major developments, and mangrove area in the south, is part of the forests are threatened by pollution a wetland that has been declared of and by possible removal for coastal international significance. It serves as development. Based in the town of Las an important nesting area for several Garitas, our project is funding construction endangered bird species. We’re helping of a boardwalk through the mangroves, to develop infrastructure for ecotourism, as well as educational initiatives to foster such as improvements to tour boats, and appreciation of the ecosystem. offering support for the rangers who enforce rules against poaching and other Under the leadership of new Seacology destructive activities. Field Representative Leida Buglass, we’re looking forward to helping communities in Samana Bay, the third new project this beautiful and unique country to strike Agrofrontera personnel deploy their new Seacology- site, has the largest concentration of the right balance between development funded kayaks, which will be used for tours of Montecristi mangroves in the entire country, but it and sustainability. Province’s mangrove forests. SEACOLOGY

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You can help Seacology protect parrotfish and coral reefs in Colombia! page 3

Carl Salonen seacology.org/parrotfish creatingimagery.com