my new job is working with the environmental defense fund (EDF)'s oceans program on their international fisheries initiatives. in particular, i work on a project with two partners - Rare and UCSB - that aims to implement rights-based fisheries in the developing tropics. at some point i could get technical and nerdy about this, but i'll just start with that. the project is piloting in the philippines, indonesia, and belize. and i recently traveled with co-workers from the three organizations to do a scoping, site visit familiarization trip to the philippines and indonesia.
returning to the philippines six years after i lived there post-university was really cool. that experience was so important to my career, perspective, and such a time of personal growth for me, and i wasn't sure what it would be like to go back. unfortunately, with limited time and a packed schedule, i didn't get in touch with former friends and colleagues there - it was going to be too logistically difficult to see folks, but i hope that next time i return, i can stay for a few days and visit old haunting grounds.
our first few days were spent in a workshop in manila, where there was a typhoon. what an amazing city manila is - i had forgotten how many people there are, the sharp contrasts between rich and poor, and how overwhelming it is. we wandered around fort santiago anyways, begged a cab driver to take us back to the hotel through flooding streets, and basically just watched in awe as the rain poured down.
[manila river and homes]
[cab driving through flooded streets. we begged.]
[it rained and rained and rained]
our large group split into two teams, and we each visited three different potential sites. at each site, we chatted with fishers, community members, and enforcement groups (
bantay dagats), met with mayors, visited fish markets, went diving, and overall had an amazing time.
the first site our team visited was in tinambac, camarines sur. i was reminded immediately why i always carry a book and a deck of cards while traveling (in general, but especially in asia) - flight delayed, followed by a drive in a van, and then a panga out to the site, a village called maslog. in tamban (where we caught our boat out to maslog), we wandered through the public market, and watched people scoop up copra shells - a smell that i will never forget, as my host family in san agustin were copra buyers.
[fish sellers at the tamban market]
[there were, of course, also groups of kids simultaneously shy and wanting to have their photo taken]
in maslog, we were greeted by most of the community and the Rare Pride Campaign mascot Agcaton - who serves as the focal point for increasing pride in local natural marine resources and, for Rare in the Philippines, to increase compliance and effectiveness with marine protected areas (no-take zones). and, as mentioned, we met with community leaders, learned about fishing in the area and what the community was doing to improve their livelihoods.
[Agcaton and welcoming committee to maslog]
[community effort to collect funds for enforcement of the MPA]
[MPA management committee during a meeting]
[boats]
and seriously, what an amazing experience it is to visit these communities - very poor, very isolated, and yet so welcoming and open with us. at one point, fishers were helping us draw out maps of where they fish and with what gear - something that i cannot imagine happening in the States, especially with a group of foreign strangers. but this was a place where Rare and partners had worked for a long time and built up a lot of trust within the community. the generosity and friendliness of people in the philippines will never cease to amaze me.
similar moments were repeated in cortes and cantilan, both municipalities in the province surigao del sur. in cortes, we visited the
barangay Uba, where once again, we met the Rare Pride mascot, Rabita and spoke with the community. we played a game that EDF created to get people to think about fisheries management. and kids followed us around. i had brought little gifts of EDF swag for the kids - nothing too exciting, but amusingly, stickers of animals that people care about to give to donors. so, polar bears. it made me laugh (and shake my head a bit) to give stickers of polar bears to kids in the philippines. oh well. they immediately stuck the stickers on their hands, faces, and arms, so i think they were pleased enough.
[our group and Uba community with Rabita]
[playing the fishing game]
there were fun times here as well - riding a water buffalo (
carabao), swimmin gin a giant tide pool. our ongoing theme (stolen from an advertisement promoting tourism in the philippines) was "it's more fun in the philippines!". and it is.
[carabao]
[swimming spot]
[lunch]
we also dove in cortes - better than in tinambac/maslog (where my camera refused to work, so no photos, sorry), but evidence of dynamite and cyanide fishing, few fish, and small fish. it reminded me of the conditions in romblon and san agustin. it is disturbing to see such evidence of overfishing, when these communities rely so heavily on fish for food, protein, and their livelihoods. fish markets provide little reassurance, as fish there are also low trophic groups and small. it gives you a sense of how much a solution is needed ... and hope that the work we are doing will help improve fishing and create sustainable fisheries here.
[giant clam!]
[clown fish chasing me away from their anemone]
[campadan reef]
our final visit was out to ayoke island, a village in cantilan. we took a magnificent boat ride out there - about an hour long, on a flat sea with water clear enough to see the reefs below (quite deep).
[boat ride]
once again, we were welcomed with open arms and conversation (including a huge banquet lunch of fresh seafood on the beach). and we met this Pride campaign's mascot, Tilang, too. we went diving from the ayoke island guardhouse. paradise.
[guardhouse]
[dive site. paradise.]
[reef]
[nudibranch!]
it was a delightful two weeks and so good to return to this fascinating and beautiful country.
[fishing nets]
