Fisheries Fellows, a Mexican based program which trains biologists and oceanographers to give local fishers tools to become sustainable, recently had one of its fellows speak at an international conservation conference. Salvador Rodriguez Van Dyke, a Rare Fisheries Fellow, talks about his experience working with fishers in Mexico and at the biannual conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons in England.

It was 9:47 in the morning this past July and room 208 was almost full, or at least it seemed to be. The themes presented at the “Managing Complex Commons” session attracted a good crowd. It was the last day of the biannual conference in Cheltenham, England, organized by the International Association for the Study of the Commons.I was the fifth and last presenter in that session and my turn had come.

I bet you can imagine my nerves: being at my first global conference and having a short 15-minunte presentation, in English, following all these researches, Ph.D students and academics — and me a beginner on the “Commons” topics. Fikret Berkes and E. Pinkerton, two of the most well-known international fisheries ‘gurus’, were in the room. Last year, I started reading some of their publications and since then I had become, kind of, a fan of theirs. So there was some excitement too.

In my presentation, I shared my experience of the Fisheries Fellows program — living for 18 months in the rural village of Agua Verde, Mexico, some results to date, and how important it is to focus on short-term goals so the long-term goal (i.e. sustainable fisheries) can become a reality.

Participants from Latin America who attened the conference

There’s an article that I’ll share with you soon that was created in collaboration with Amy Hudson Weaver, of the Mexican conservation organization Niparaja, and Cynthia Mayoral Brown, Rare’s Director of the Fisheries Fellows program. The presentation of this article in the conference was congratulated and some people were amazed about the time and resources we are investing in the Fisheries Fellows Program.

There were only two questions at the end. “How was your introduction to the community? …I mean how did the fishermen receive you?” and the other referred to the time when the fellow leaves the community “how are you going to ensure that the job you are doing keeps on…”.

My introduction into the community was easy. The community was expecting a fellow because the program did a survey and worked with the community before we arrived. But, I think the personalities of the fellows had a lot of influence. I can tell you now that I felt accepted from the very first moment I began. Now the fishers I worked with are like family to me.

Answering the second question was a little bit tough, but that’s something that we have been thinking about since the program started. We are trying to build capacities and increase knowledge so in the future the fishermen keep growing by themselves.

That week in England was one of the most interesting moments in my life, in my career as an Oceanographer and/or as a Fisheries fellow. I had the chance to talk to people all around the world, working in such different areas, like forestry, atmosphere, water, waste and even with the internet — but all regarding the common resources view.  I think all fisheries fellows are just beginning, but we should be proud that we’re addressing one of the global challenges and hopefully, if it succeeds, the Fisheries Fellows Program can be replicated in another part of the world.

Global Warming. Climate Change. Greenhouse Gasses. These are phrases which have seeped into our everyday language. But, what are the effects? Who does is it concern globally? And what are ways to help those at the local level? Rare Pride Program Manager Hari Kushardanto of Indonesia just got back from a training in Bali focusing on climate change. He examines these questions in his recent blog.

In human history I believe this is the first time ever that environmental issues have gathered immense attention from across the globe. This is a time when conservation topics are discussed by everybody from taxi drivers to politicians. And, although it sounds different depending on what language it’s spoken in, global warming is the one phrase that everyone understands.

Global warming may be a hot topic in daily conversation today, and the complexity of the issue has raisin to a greater extent then when the issue first was brought up at the 1992 Earth Summit. Rapid forest degradation in the tropics is believed to contribute a significant amount of CO2 emissions. The impoverished in developing countries, whose livelihoods include agriculture or fisheries, will be the first groups that will suffer due to global climate change and the rise of the sea’s surface temperature. Yet, economic growth was used as development jargon until now. Developed countries are showing greater commitment to developing countries and help lessen greenhouse gasses.

Unfortunately, although greenhouse gas is a phrase which has made it into everyday language all over the world, not everybody knows what greenhouse gasses are and why negative effect occurs. Not everybody understands that peat swamp, or tropical moist forests, contribute to greenhouse gas emission three to four times more than other types of forests. Not everybody realizes that there are two mechanisms, one government regulated and the other a grassroots effort, which have been formed as an incentive for developing countries to reduce CO2 emissions without compromising the right of those in poverty to a sustainable habitat.

Many initiatives for climate change mitigation projects have been developed by scientific communities as well as by governments and the business sector. Yet again, there is little concrete guidance on how to develop an acceptable and sound project. Rare realizes that to change behavior of local people living in or adjacent to rich biodiversity, education alone will not suffice. Rare believes that removing obstacles that hinder climate change will help change behavior. With this, a climate mitigation project can offer local people an incentive for preserving their forest area which can be an important habitat for many imperiled species.

All participants of Rare’s training on Climate Change in Bali on August 26, 2008

Rare works with a variety of partners and at an array of sites around the globe and many of these sites focus on deforestation issues, helping to mitigate global warming. Rare’s Vice president of Asia and the Pacific, Nigel Sizer, has initiated a series of talks and discussions with people and organizations working on climate change issues and plans to introduce a climate change-community-biodiversity project to Rare’s partners. For our partners, and also for Rare’s staff around the world, global warming is an issue well known and to understand their stance and how climate change effects various community through in global, is crucial.

To bring local perspectives together, on August 26 in Bali, Indonesia at green resort surrounded by organic paddy fields, 20 participants attended a training on climate change and forest issues. Some of these participants lead Rare Pride conservation campaigns; others included Rare partners, and Rare staff. I think all participants received the training positively.

Following the training, a separate talk on the Coral Triangle Initiative was given to Rare filed staff in Asia who attended the training. Dewa Gede R Wiadnya, Director for Training, TNC Indonesia gave the talk. It has been a new experience for some to hear about over-fishing and destructive fishing practices, the global initiative to protect the significant coral reef and marine ecosystems on earth, and TNC’s role in this process.  Through working with our partners, and campaign leaders this training was a means to strengthen local conservation actions that is a true catalyst to global impact.