Conservation volunteering

I am a diver and a diving instructor so I am all very sensitive to marine conservation chatter and maybe a little bit passionate about the sea.

But I am sure you have all heard and keep on hearing about it: the reefs are dying, pollution, coral bleaching overfishing, global warming.

Films, documentaries, books, newspapers, environmental activists all out there campaigning for more awareness, more action, more conservation.

So we get it, the reefs are not doing well and we need to do something to protect them.

But what does this exactly mean?

When you talk about a land animal or forests people can visualize the issue. If someone mentions deforestation you know in practice what it is, because you may have seen a tree being cut or images on a magazine or documentaries on TV. But how close a problem do you feel this is to you? And what is the image that comes up to your mind when you think of an unhealthy reef?

Have you ever wondered how scientists assess the state of a reef?

How can scientists grasp what is happening under water?

Could you tell from a picture? Does the following depict a healthy reef?

Could you identify any problems on the next image?

When scientists first started asking questions about the global state of the reef there was no definite answer. Opinions on the general state of the reefs globally varied from person to person based on  methodologies used and individual experience and personal perception of the health of their local environments. Up until just over a decade ago there was no compatible data that could be used to assess what the general health of the reefs is on a global scale.

The very first global reef survey was carried out as recently as 1997 thanks to Reef Check. A not-for-profit organization that, through the coordination and training of a global network of volunteers was able to collect data that formed the basis for a report confirming the status of crisis of our reefs globally and that shocked many marine biologists who until then had not realized the extent of the problem (“About Reef Check” 2007).

While this initial global survey enabled analysis of a number of reefs in many countries worldwide using a single methodology and was invaluable to start off the debate and raise awareness and interest globally, some limitations were identified in the subsequent report published in a scientific journal 1999:

•    As part of the original project it was not possible to survey all the countries with reefs in the world. About 70 countries had to be left out; 80 were surveyed.

•    The number of 300 sample sites surveyed, ideally should be increased to cover a wider number of samples for more representative data

•    From a global perspective, some areas were over represented (e.g.: Egypt) while others were under represented (e.g.: the Caribbean)

Nonetheless this was indeed the first survey that enabled an initial global assessment of the reefs. Since then Reef Check has continued to grow and today it counts a network of volunteers in 90 countries and territories enabling the collection of invaluable data for ongoing assessment of the reefs. The data provides valuable insight for decision making on the establishment of protected areas as well as for assessments of the success of existing ones.

Why should this interest you?

Well, because these kind of surveys in such a global scale are only possible thanks to volunteers. If scientists were to use just marine biologists for this kind of work it would be virtually impossible or it would take much longer, because of the scale, the number of people required, time, costs and lack of funding. 

This is how non-profit organizations have come to sprawl over the years to make ends meet: science meets the general public and this partnership is very fruitful. The best example of a win-win situation.

Volunteers who take part in these kind of projects do not need to have a scientific background. The methodology used is simple enough to be learned quickly and applied by anyone without a science degree. Volunteers are only required to put in their time, commitment and some funding to support the research; in exchange they get to learn new skills side by side to experienced scientists on the field, visit amazing places and locations sometimes very remote and come back with a luggage full of incredible experiences that will never be comparable to any other travel endeavors. Plus of course, the satisfaction of knowing that they are contributing to a collective worthwhile effort that will increase knowledge and hopefully result into some practical long-term solutions.

I can tell you because I have done it and from these experiences I treasure the most precious memories; from  smiling children in remote fishing villages in Madagascar to angry territorial fish chewing through transect tape in Musandam.

Just a word of warning: make sure you research your organization carefully before you part with your hard earned money.

As you may have gathered we have these kind of projects in Oman too but this was just an introduction.

 I will talk about my experiences as a volunteer in my next post.

In the meantime I am preparing to leave for Dhofar - the southern region of Oman - at the end of this week, to join Biosphere Expeditions on their project on the Arabian Leopard.

Stay tuned.

A random weekend

This weekend was supposed to be spent under a canopy of stars, with sand in between the toes (and in the hair, the ears and everywhere else for that matter), driving up and down dunes and chasing the dung beetles away from the camp fire.

But we personally had to scrap the plan. Yes, because amongst the things that are a little different here, there are public holidays. Or better the fact of never knowing until the last minute whether they are going to be public (as in “just for the public sector”) or a true “public holidays” (as in “for the general public”).

Take this last occasion for the example, the Prophet’s birthday. A birthday: you may be tempted to think that it should always be on the same date. Think again.
Well yes a date is a date but the calendar the date is based on is not the one we are accustomed to and in this case it can be all a bit lunar.

Here is how it works:

everybody knew the rough date (some, thanks to modern technology or basic knowledge of moon cycles, can also guess the date with precision) but as with every religious occurrence here, the exact date will only be announced two or three days before the actual event after a committee of elders have had the opportunity to glance at the moon and officially confer on the exact date.

Once this happens the Ministry of Manpower (I think) decides whether everybody is worthy of a day off or whether only the public sector is entitled.

Just to make things more interesting there is also to take into consideration that the weekend here can fall over a variety of days depending on who you work for: if you churn numbers in a bank for example you may have Friday and Saturday off, ministries and other public bodies are closed on Thursdays and Fridays, if you work for a company in the private sector you are at the mercy of some obscure algorithm I have not managed to crack: you may have Thursday & Friday or Friday & Saturday. If you are in construction you may just have 1 day off but some maybe 1 and ½ at random between Thursday, Friday or perhaps even Saturday.

After almost 2 and ½ years I find it just as mysterious as black magic.

So up until a few days before the weekend we were foolishly counting on a 3-day break to join the usual suspects on an insane challenge in the Wahiba desert until this announcement at S.’s company came out on Sunday:

“For your information ministries, public authorities and other government departments will remain closed on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 on the occasion of Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday, according to a decision issued here yesterday by Sayyid Ali bin Hamoud al Busaidy, Minister of the Diwan of the Royal Court and Chairman of the Civil Service Council.
Meanwhile, Shaikh Abdullah bin Nassir al Bakri, Minister of Manpower, issued a ministerial decision to stop work at private sector companies and establishments on the same occasion on Thursday, February 17, 2011. Work will resume in private sector establishments on Saturday, February 19.
Have a nice holiday!”

Now while this doesn't mean anything to you. For us it meant just another “normal” weekend as opposed to a long one. Not enough to cover hundreds of kilometers for a desert challenge anyway.

So no desert for us; we had to come up with something else to do with the weekend.

That is how we ended up exploring a completely new part of town on a trek through the mountains at the back between Ryam and Muttrah. Now for those who do not know Muscat, these are basically mountains the city cuts right through, which meant that for about 1.5hrs we ended up on a snake infested trail (lots of fun) feeling as if we were in the middle of nowhere, while being just a stone throw  from the hustle and bustle of the old town with souq, tourists and cruise ships!
Once off the trail we refilled at a local restaurant, jumped on our boat for a cruise along the coast and ended the day walking for what felt like the equivalent of the desert challenge to, through and from the Muscat Festival (the to and from just to avoid the gridlock of cars).

Today we took it easy brunching for hours at one of the usual joints at a top end hotel in town.

This is the end of a random weekend without a plan. Goodnight!

When indispensable things don't work

It starts like this: you press a button on the remote control and nothing happens.
Or a puddle forms on the floor. Panic sets in.
You know it is time to call the service men to repair the AC.

So you call and they turn up, at some undefined time between Bukra and InshaAllah with their mysterious tool boxes.

One looks at the AC unit with a puzzled face.

I explain: AC is not working. You see it doesn’t come on at all. It looks as if there is no electricity reaching the unit; however the light on the switch on the wall is on (which suggests that electricity arrives there: I must be a genius).

AC man one looks at the AC, then plays with the switch, then with the remote and confirms my initial assessment (the one where I state that the AC doesn’t work). Then asks for the location of the main switch.

I think he wants to cut off the power to work on the unit,  turns out he wants to open and disassemble the main electricity switch to search for some phantom fault there… It must be the main switch you see, if there is electricity in the switch on the wall but not on the actual unit on the opposite wall. I already visualise endless candlelit nights.

Finally I convince him to look elsewhere (I can be very persuasive); so he decides that it’s time to take the switch on the wall apart (the one where the light comes on).

I question his troubleshooting methods: he mentions something on the lines of checking first what works (??). I give up hope on a solution for the day. I let him open the switch hoping that he doesn’t break what works or cause a short-circuit. He places the screws back and half an hour past the useless checks he finally moves to the broken AC unit.

He tells me that there is electricity there but the motor doesn’t work. I wonder how he checked the existence of electricity and I imagine him sticking his tongue out like when I used to play with those old fashioned batteries as a kid.

It’s the motor, he finally claims with solemnity in front of the open unit with a grovel of hanging wires and then he entertains a series of reasons why it is better to replace the unit instead of just the part. I personally don’t care beyond having a functioning AC; costs and particulars are for the landlord’s perusal.

Then he turns around and goes back to look at the unit and fiddle with wires and other stuff scratching his head. The head scratching usually gets me but especially I never understand why anyone would continue to look at something once he has so convincingly diagnosed the problem and suggested a radical solution such as replacement.

Living here I’ve learnt how perception of time is personal and cultural and can be the basis for a lot of frustration.

So three days later they are back, with a brand new AC unit, an extra person and a lot more tools. Drilling through my bedroom wall, banging and changing electrical wires too (not sure why if they were working). I cannot fail to notice what sounds like some disagreements and head shaking when I pop my head into the room to ensure that they are still alive.

They’ve been there for the last 3 or 4 hours, maybe longer.

I hope they leave soon, that the AC works when they leave and especially that the unit doesn’t fall onto our heads during the night.

Finally I still think that issue might have been a faulty wire but it’s only a thought. The truth I will never know.