i s d s i cities villages International Sustainableforests Development Studies Institute Expedition Field Course Culture and Ecology of the Andaman: Islands, Reefs and Mangroves (Ecology/Geography) Springoceans Semester, 2014 Instructors: Dr. Mark Ritchie, Angkarin Pimpaeng, Hannah Joseph Course Overview rivers Coastal communities are on the front line of the ecological impacts of marine resource depletion, the crashing of global fish stocks and climate change. This course examines islands, oceans, reefs and mangroves, and the human communities that depend on fishing and related activities. This course focuses on coastal and marine ecosystems and relationships between local communities and natural resources as well as the impacts of outside forces, including development related to fishing, tourism development and globalization. The field course will be in two distinct locations. For our study of islands and reefs, we will be in the Adang Archipelago National Marine Park in the Andaman Sea, Southwest Thailand. The area is remarkable for its diversity of marine life. It is a breeding ground essential to the conservation of the biodiversity of Southeast Asian seas and for the sustainability of regional fisheries. For the last century, the Adang Archipelago has also been a home of the Urak Lawoi, a formerly semi-nomadic group dependent on the sea. The case represents a complex situation — multiple and often conflicting resource demands in a marine protected area, rapidly changing ways of life for the Urak Lawoi, and significant changes in their relationships with natural resources. The second study site will be the coastal fishing community of Baan Jao Mai, Trang. This community is remarkable for its work on mangrove and sea grass conservation, and the close links they have to small scale fishing. The community is also distinct in that it is primarily a Muslim community, with cultural practices different from the Buddhist Thai majority. This area, composed of extensive mangroves,beaches, reefs, rubber plantations, and islands, is under increasing pressure from the expansion of shrimp farms and commercial fishing. Objective Learning experientially about reefs, mangroves, tropical islands and human and ecological communities, students will understand the value, uniqueness, and fragility of coastal marine ecological systems and cultures, as well as the importance of their conservation. Through field-based learning the students will examine the relationship between various stakeholders and the ecology of the region. By the end of the course, students will understand the interaction of human and ecological communities (reefs, mangroves and sea grasses) in coastal areas. Learning Outcomes Students on the course will demonstrate competency in the following: • Understanding of the key issues concerning the sustainability of coastal environments and cultures • Understanding the biological processes within marine ecosystems with particular knowledge of significant fish, reef, mangrove and seagrass ecology • Understanding of local knowledge related to fish and fishing as well as the links between coastal culture and marine resource utilization • Understanding of the social dynamics related to marine ecology, island resource conservation and development (e.g. ethnic culture, tourism, commercial fishing, national park conservation) • Ability to successfully carry out the essential technical skills related to the study of marine ecology, including sea kayaking and skin-diving • Geographic field survey methods, especially as related to marine ecology and island environments • Comparative field marine biology survey methods for coral reefs, mangroves and sea grasses • Sociological survey methods, including competency in surveys of stakeholders in the islands (e.g. resort owners, tourists, park officials, and local fishermen) Culture and Ecology of the Andaman: Islands, Reefs and Mangroves 1 • Understanding the economic, social and cultural adaptations within the coastal environment and in relation to non- local forces • Proficiency with the tools of field research including marine/island navigation • Ability to identify significant reef and mangrove species, including vertebrates, invertebrates, corals (hard and soft), and plants OCEANS: Communities and conservation A distinctive part of this course is a comparative case study of two very different cultural and ecological places, both linked by the ocean and marine environment. While sharing many common characteristics, we will be examining each of the case studies through a specific lens to better understand the issues related to each context. The Coastal Section of the course will focus specifically on “Community Resource Management,” with a study of the fishing community of Baan Jao Mai on the coast near Trang. Here our emphasis will be on understanding how the community manages, conserves and shapes the environment within which it is embedded, by managing resources such as mangroves, fishing areas, sea grasses and other resources to benefit and sustain the community. The coastal environment of Trang is very much shaped by the human communities that have lived there for generations, subsisting on small scale fishing, and currently dealing with the complex political ecology of a marine coastal area. The primary focus is the human community embedded within a specific ecosystem. The Island Section of the course will focus on “Conservation Ecology” in the Adang Archipelago, a Marine Protected area and National Park, as well as traditional home to the Urak Lawoi people. The Adang Archipelago is also host to fishing trawlers, tourists, national park officials, and a complex coral reef and island ecosystem. The focus on this section of the course is understanding the ecology of the archipelago, the various user groups and what can be done to conserve the reefs and fishing resources. Competition by various stakeholders for the resource (both for extraction and conservation) are significant, and we will be examining the ecology of the archipelago and strategies to use the resource sustainably while maintaining ecological integrity. The primary focus is the ecosystem with various user groups impacting and using the ecological resources. Grading and Assessment Participation and Expedition Skills!!!!10 % !Participation in this class means doing the reading, participating in discussions, and being an active member of the course. This is not limited to the time in the formal classroom or during seminar! Participation means being engaged in active learning by talking with villagers, asking questions, getting “into” the field activities and work, and playing an active role in the host families and communities of which we will be a part. Expedition skills entail: being competent working together in a group, demonstrating technical skills, appropriately managing risk, sharing the leadership, being an active follower, as well as being able to safely travel and learn in the varied environments where the course takes place. Additionally, during this course, you will each have the opportunity to lead your peers for activity blocks as a designated leader. At the beginning of the course, each student will sign up for leadership blocks. Leadership at ISDSI means making timely, appropriate actions that guide and support your group to set and achieve realistic goals. Great leaders create an environment that inspires individuals and groups to achieve their full potential. As designated leaders, students will join the EFC Instructor Team in facilitating and managing the given activities. Field Guide!!!!!!!20 % ! Each student needs to complete an Oceans Activity Field Guide that contains student activities focusing on the flora and fauna encountered, ecological activities conducted, and sociological activities conducted during the course. Blank field guides will be handed out as a separate book at the beginning of each course and should be filled in as directed and as you conduct these guided activities. In addition to the field guide (provided), you need to take legible, well organized classroom and field notes in your Field Notebook. This is an important skill you will learn on the course, and field notes should be taken for both ecological and sociological information. You need to record in a consistent way what you are observing each day through descriptive observations, and demonstrate that you are able to process and understand your experience by interpretative analysis. You should also use your field notebook to take notes during lectures, meetings, symposia, etc., and you will write your reflections, essays, and final exam in the field notebook. Culture and Ecology of the Andaman: Islands, Reefs and Mangroves 2 Reflections !!!!!!!20 % ! Five times throughout the course, students should think and write two pages in their field notebook !about a !significant connection made between culture, ecology and the focus of the course in a Reflection. Re-read your !observations and interpretations from the day in your field notebook, fill in details, ask further questions, then write a !short reflection about something that made a significant impact on your thinking about a particular connection or !idea. This is not a journal or diary entry, but rather an academic exercise that allows you to succinctly record your !integration of academic and experiential information about a particular topic. Be sure to use the citation guide for !citing academic and field information. The Ocean of Life: Presentations!! ! ! ! 5% A key text for this course is The Ocean of Life, by Callum