Fish as a Lifeline for Filipinos

Ayoke Island, Philippines. © Suzannah Evans

Ayoke Island’s MPA was named one of the Philippines’ top 10 marine protected areas, no small feat in a country with 1,600 MPAs, the most in the world. But as recently as December the community faced a real test when the MPA was dynamited during the town’s fiesta, when no one was volunteering at the guardhouse. Continue reading

Simplicity in Solutions: 2011 Solution Search Winner

Johnson measures fish trap

A few years ago lobster fishers in Bermuda put holes in their traps to let unwanted fish escape. No one tested them to prove that these escape gaps worked. When Ayana Elizabeth Johnson was selecting her dissertation topic, her advisor … Continue reading

2011 Solution Search Winners! First-ever Global Solution Search Winners Announced

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On Jan. 6, 2012, Rare, in partnership with National Geographic, announced the grand-prize winner and runners-up of “Solution Search: Turning the Tide for Coastal Fisheries.” Continue reading

Ecuador, a country made up of great human and biological diversity

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A week or so after returning from visiting our China campaign managers in Kunming, I was back in the air again, this time heading west to Ecuador, a country of geological and geographic contrasts. From the offshore islands of the Galapagos … Continue reading

Notes from a rare planet: And the gold goes to…Rwanda!

Rwanda has become the newest winner of the prestigious future policy award 2011 (IPS) “‘Rwanda has sought not only to make its forests a national priority, but has also used them as a platform to revolutionise its stances on women’s rights … Continue reading

Notes from a rare planet: Mexico will ban shark fishing as global sanctuary movement grows

Mexico will ban shark fishing as global sanctuary movement grows (The New York Times) “Conservationists estimate that about 73 million sharks are slaughtered each year mainly for acquiring their fins, and they fear that the uncontrolled and illegal fishing of … Continue reading

How to market conservation in Madagascar

“The challenge is that it’s all about poverty. Also, it’s all about the livelihood. They are using destructive fishing, for example, to eat, to find money, to buy clothes, for their children. That’s one of the challenges.” If the above … Continue reading