The Road To Destruction
Category: Coastal Forest, Colobus, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Shimoni Forest | Date: Nov 16 2009 | By: gvikenya
Today saw our forest teams heading back into the forest after a nice weekend off, and heading down to transect 2 and 4. However the optimism of the start of a new week was dampened somewhat by the devastating progress being made by the private developers who have their hands on the coastal plots that run along the southern and eastern edge of Shimoni east forest.
It was almost 9 months ago now when we first saw the plots being fenced off and cleared, and the appearance of several large roads that connected all of the plots. Since then all of the plots are getting destroyed slowly but surely, and one of the sites that was mere foundations a few months ago is almost a fully fledged hotel that can be seen by our marine teams out on the boat when they head north up to Funzi Bay.
One of the most shocking things our team noticed today though, was the progress that has been made on the roads. The original ones have become larger, wider and more cleared, and more such roads have sprung up forming large intersections and leading to new locations. If this continues at this rate then fairly soon the whole area near the coast will be flattened. And our surveys have shown that this area is widely used by colobus monkeys, yellow baboons, suni’s, Harvey’s duikers, Zanj elephant shrews and countless other species.
A section of the new road. In the distance you can see the smoke from the burning of cut vegetation
It is so sad that the people doing this cannot see what irreversible damage they are doing. I cannot believe that one can use ignorance as an excuse, as my 4 year old nephew could guess that what they are doing is ruthlessly destructive. We are going to attempt to get in contact with the owners of these plots as soon as possible. We are not going to lecture them or demand that they stop – it is their land after all. We will try and meet with them with our close partners Friends of Shimoni Forest, who can ask on behalf of the community that they at least try and do things more eco-friendly and try to minimise their impact.
There are simple measures they can take to reduce their impact, such as leaving some of the large trees standing so as to allow a consistent canopy or “corridors” of canopy over the plots. This will allow primate species to get across from one side of the plot to the other without having to go onto the ground.
We’ll let you know how it goes!
Tags: , cleared, coastal plots, colobus monkey, community, consistent canopy, corridors, eastern edge, eco-friendly, excuse, fenced off, foundations, Friends of Shimoni Forest, funzi bay, harvey's duiker, hotel, ignorance, irreversible damage, large intersections, large roads, large trees, lecture, Marine team, minimise impact, nephew, new locations, north, other species, owners, primate species, private developers, ruthlessly destructive, Shimoni east forest, southern edge, Suni, transect, yellow baboon, zanj elephant shrew
Working With The Funzi Turtle Club (Day 1)
Category: Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Funzi turtle club, Mangroves, Turtles | Date: Nov 10 2009 | By: gvikenya
This past Wednesday found the GVI marine team travelling from Wasini Island to Funzi Island for two days of training with the Funzi Bay Turtle Club, a local community effort to save endangered sea turtles. Currently there are about 30 members in the club, 20 of which, including the chair, are females from this traditional Muslim community on the island.
Since we usually spend our days on the water monitoring local and migratory marine species, to have two full days on dry land was quite a change of routine.
Douglas explaining the importance of sea turtle conservation
Upon arrival, we were met by one of the club members and taken to our house, where we met up with KESCOM volunteers Sonya and Avidad from Sweden, here for three months. KESCOM (Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee) currently supports many grass-root turtle conservation efforts along the Kenyan coastline. This support comes in the form of monetary donations, grant writing, providing volunteers, management and contacts with other local organizations. Douglas is the KESCOM Funzi Island representative.
Jennifer LeClair giving the presentatoin about whales and dolphins
After our introductions we proceeded to the village for a tour and to the mangrove forest for a planting session. Since mangroves are among the fastest disappearing ecosystems in the world, each tree really counts! The turtle club also runs a shop with some very unique gifts made by local community members, and we all spend some time and money there.
Following a fabulous meal cooked by the ladies of the turtle club (one of many such delicious meals) we began our training with the group. Our goal was to help the club members learn to interact with tourists and to give them information that tourists would like to hear, in addition to giving them important information about habitat conservation. We showed a number of PowerPoint presentations to the group and with the help of Douglas on the Swahili translation, gave them information about ocean conservation, sea turtle identification and morphology, and local whale and dolphin species. Club members were extremely interested in learning and asked a number of thought provoking questions following each presentation.
Mangroves
One of the most common questions asked by the community members was how to explain to the other islanders (100% of which are fishermen) topics regarding conservation of the ocean environment. We were able to provide some examples, but in the end had to explain that changing people’s minds is a very slow process. Since entanglement in discarded fishing nets is one of the biggest threats to marine animals, we suggested that this was a good issue to start with in the community. We were very impressed with the concern of the club members about the welfare of the ocean habitats and animals, especially in an area of the country where ecosystem destruction and human disturbance is prevalent.
Overall, both sides seemed very pleased with the progress made during the first day of training. The volunteers of GVI would like to thank KESCOM and the Funzi Bay Turtle Club for there generous hospitality and delicious traditional food.
Mangroves of Funzi Island
Tags: , change of routine, club members, dolphin species, ecosystem destruction, endangered seas turtles, entanglement in disgarded fishing nets, funzi bay, Funzi Island, Funzi Tirtle Club, grant writing, grass0roots turlte conservatoin, human disturbance, Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee, Kenyan coastline, KESCOM, local community members, local marine species, local organisations, mangrove ecosystems, migratory marine species, monetary donations, morphology, ocean conservation, ocean environment, powerpoint presentations, sea turtle identification, swahili translations, thought provoking questions, threats to marine mammals, tourists, traditional Muslim community, turtle club, unique gifts, volunteers, wasini island, whale species
Is Kisite-Mpunguti MPA Offering Dolphin-Watching Tours?
Category: Cetacean research, Dolphin-watching tours, Dolphins, Eco-tourism, Humpback Dolphins, Humpback whales, Kisite Mpunguti MPA, bottlenose dolphins | Date: Nov 06 2009 | By: gvikenya
As part of the socio-economic impact of the dolphin-watching industry in Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Protected Area, GVI carried out a study to evaluate the quality of the talks offered during the dolphin-watching tours. The aim was to find out the knowledge of the tour guides and captain on numerous areas and indicators. This study was undertaken between July and September of 2009 by GVI staff and volunteers, which accompanied 12 tourist dhow trips, assessing 15 guides and captains.
Unfortunately when analysing the assessment forms and categorising the areas into either insufficient or sufficient, the vast majority of trips proved to be overall insufficient. In fact only 3 areas – presentation, duration and route and information on KMMPA – were deemed as sufficient in over half of the trips.
The first assessment was on the presentation relating to information provided on the company, crew and boat given at the beginning of the trip. In 5 of the 12 trips only the names of the crew were given. However, 7 proved to be sufficient providing information in a very warm and friendly manner covering all three areas.
The information provided on the duration and route of the trip is the second area deemed to be overall sufficient. Ten trips gave full details regarding the structure of the day, detailing the period spent searching for dolphins, snorkelling and the break for lunch. However, 2 trips failed to mention this area at all!
The final area assessed as sufficient was for information provided on the Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Protect Area. In this area 7 of the 12 trips provided good information on the difference between the Marine Park and the Marine Reserve (three of them offered by the same tour guide). However, again 5 trips failed to provide information, merely pointing out where the MPA was.
GVI volunteers on board a tourist dhow
Information provided on the local area also proved to be very insufficient. With only 6 trips mentioning Shimoni, by providing a brief history and information relating to the slave caves. Additionally, only 6 made mention of Wasini, detailing the coral board walk and village tour. Only 1 trip discussed Mkwiro, and even that it was only to advice that it was a fisherman village. The remainder of the tours provided no information whatsoever on the surrounding areas.
Similarly, not one of the tourist dhows discussed anything to do with the local oceanography. For example no information was given regarding the geographical location in the Indian Ocean, of the important nesting turtle site in Funzi Bay, nor the important fishing ground of the Nyuli Reef.
Insufficient information was also provided in the area of health and safety, with the average time spent discussing this being less than 30 seconds. Advice was given to maintain the balance of the boat, however nothing was discussed relating to the life jackets, life rings, first aid or fire extinguishers. All 12 dhows failed to provide sufficient information.
Another area in which most of the tourist dhows surprising failed to provide sufficient information on was that of the marine species. Considering the tourist dhows were actually providing a dolphin-watching tour only 2 of them provided detailed information relating to the species of dolphins that could be found in the area and their habitats. However 10 of them failed to spend even 30 seconds doing this. Furthermore, not one of the dhows mentioned the possibility of sighting humpback whales, their characteristics or of their migration pattern through KMMPA. With GVI having 7 sighting of humpback whales during this study period, there is clear evidence of this migration! Similarly, when discussing the snorkelling that would be taking place as part of the tour none of them mentioned the likelihood of spotting turtles or of the species they may see in the area.
All 12 tourist dhows also failed to discuss KWS or the Code of Conduct introduced in 2007. No mention was made of the requirement of dolphin watching dhows to maintain a distance of 100m from groups of dolphins, that they should try and have only 2 boats around a group at one time, and to steer around a group.
Tour guide approaching a tourist
However, on a positive note the analysis on the interaction of the tour guides is good. The vast majority of guides were answering questions raised, and there were being interactive with the tourists. They had a good approach and were very friendly. Friendly suggestions were to spend less time on personal phones and not to throw cigarette ends into the MPA.
This study showed an urgent need to train the dolphin-watching guides and captains on different areas, mainly on health & safety, history of Shimoni area (Shimoni, Wasini and Mkwiro), Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Protected Area boundaries and regulations and dolphin and whales identification, biology and ecology.
Tags: , biology and ecology, captain, code of conduct, coral board walk, dolphin-watching industry, fire extinguishers, first aid, fisherman village, funzi bay, geographicla location, GVI, habitats, health and safety, Humpback whales, indian ocean, indicators, kisite mpunguti marine protected area, KWS, life jackets, life rings, Marine Park, marine reserve, marine species, migration, mkwiro, nyuli reef, oceanography, shimoni, slaves caves, snorkelling, socio-economic impact, structure of the day, surrounding areas, tour guides, Turtles, village tour, Wasini
Whales, Dolphins And Tourists: The Tensions
Category: Cetacean research, Dolphins, Humpback whales, Kisite Mpunguti MPA, bottlenose dolphins | Date: Oct 10 2009 | By: gvikenya
The start of GVI’s marine research this October was certainly an incredible one. As part of the daily dolphin survey we were heading through Funzi Bay towards the Wasini Channel when Nick (our conservation intern/staff) excitedly drew our attention to a potential sighting. To our amazement it was a humpback whale and her calf.
There had been anticipation in the air that such a sighting may occur since the whales were migrating South from the warmer waters of the East African coast where humpback whales breed (during July and August), but no one could have expected it so early; we had been on board for a mere hour and a half.
While the sighting was spectacular, the events that followed demonstrated the challenges of marine conservation in popular tourist areas and the importance of GVI’s work. With minutes two tourist boats had also spotted the whales and, as one would expect, they wanted to get the best view possible. This attention clearly agitated the mother and her calf and they diverted their course away from Wasini Channel. Although it was incredible to have seen such an animal, it was sobering to have seen at first hand the direct impact of tourist traffic on marine mammals. Our humpback whale sighting was not the only sighting of the day to illustrate this…
Not long after having left the mother and calf, we encountered a group of bottlenose dolphins travelling through Kiste Mpunguti Marine Park. Again, we were exposed to the impact tourism is having in the area and the difficulty of balancing much-needed tourism with equally important conservation. We witnessed tourists jumping from their tour boat directing in amongst the group of dolphins. Of course, the possibility of swimming with dolphins is an excellent means of generating custom for the tour operators, but it is detrimental to the dolphins and indeed, it is prohibited by the KMMPA Code of Conduct.
These two sightings were an amazing start to the season’s marine research, but the experience was a stark reminder of the tensions that exist between the need for income gained through tourism and ecological conservation; both of which are vital to the local area and economy. In turn, these tensions demonstrate the necessity of GVI’s work and the value of the data it provides which is used by local organisations to develop solutions to such problems.
Tags: , calf, data, dolphin survey, East African Coast, ecological conservation, economy, funzi bay, humpback whale, marine conservation, marine mammals, mother, tour boat, tourist, wasini channel
Funzi Island Turtle Conservation
Category: Community Conservation, Eco-tourism, Kaya, Mangroves, Turtles | Date: Aug 17 2009 | By: gvikenya
Howzit!!
My name is Nic. I am a conservation student from South Africa. I have joined Global Vision International (GVI) as a conservation intern to gain experience in the field of marine biology. I have been with GVI for 7 weeks with a further 13 weeks to go.
In accordance with my internship project on the socio-economic impact and tourism strategies of Funzi Island, this involves the establishment of a baseline review of the turtle conservation efforts on the Island. It calls for me to:
• Identify areas that will require further development with direct and indirect benefits for the Turtle Conservation Groups (TCG) and that of the local turtle populations;
• Identify breaches of local laws and legislations that protect the turtles;
• Research alternative conservation strategies;
• Ways in which the GVI can assist the TCG’s in their endeavours;
• Look at ways to increase eco-tourism sustainably and build local awareness of sea turtle conservation;
• Identify environmental impact associated with tourism of the local sea turtle population and hence find the best measures in which to mitigate each impact.
Funzi Island
Sergi (marine science officer for GVI), and I made our way for the weekend to meet up with Douglas, who works for KESCOM and Ali Vuyaa the head of the local turtle conservation group on the Island, Funzi Turtle Club (FTC).
We arrived at Bodo and where transported via the FTC’s boat to the Island. The weekend was peppered with activities which included: a meeting on conservation strategies that are in place and ways to better future endeavours on Funzi, and the local communities involvement in turtle conservation on the island, a walk through the forest where exotic fruits were tasted and tantalised our palates while local monkeys swung freely through the canopy above, a turtle nesting site was visited on a excluded beach cove, a village tour that was undertaken, lunch at a local restaurant had, a visitation of the islands holy kaya’s, meeting with local community involved with the FTC and anti-poaching strategies as well as being shown the local handicrafts made from sandals collected from beach clean ups and a mangrove tour.
One of the sacred Kaya’s
A down side to this visit to this magical place was to see the amount of destruction created by land developers on the forest and mangroves, which the local community are trying to rectify through the TCG’s involvement and the assistance of GVI and KESCOM.
Some of the recent destruction
The island of Funzi is a marvel and the sights and people create a magical ambiance which should be protected, explored and maintained. I look forward to more visits in the near future and working closely with the TCG’s and local communities, in which the partnership between them and GVI will develop their eco-tourism in a sustainable way.
Funzi Island must remain a majestic, tranquil, beautiful island and I will happily be apart of its positive change and development in the future.
Nick with members of KESCOM and Funzi Turtle Club
Tags: anti-poaching, community based organisation, Community Conservation, conservation stratedies, deforestation, destruction, development, funzi bay, Funzi Island, Funzi turtle club, kaya's, KESCOM, turtle nesting
An Epic Day Of Dolphins (And Turtles)
Category: Cetacean research, Dolphins, Kisite Mpunguti MPA, Turtles | Date: May 01 2009 | By: gvikenya
Keziah gives us the news from yesterday’s marine research:
I woke up 6am in Shimoni, waiting to find out when the boat would come to pick me up at the jetty. With the rainy season, start times of marine surveys become a wee bit unpredictable - with one eye on the rain clouds you just have to wait for the opportunity! However, the sun was shining, there was no sign of rain and a phone call later I was jogging through Shimoni village to the boat.
We headed out towards Funzi Bay, across Nyuli Reef and to Upper Mpunguti Island when we had our first sighting of dolphins, something that has also become less predictable with the season. At first we thought there were eleven Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, but soon realised this was an underestimation. Ten on the port side, ten on the starboard side, we didn’t know quite where to look, excitedly swapping sides with a chorus of gasps and squeals from our team, and splashes and blows from the dolphins.
Several individuals were identified immediately, including one of my favourite pairs; Besty and her calf. I had the pleasure to be on the boat when we spotted Besty and her newborn calf for the first time, adorably small with the foetal folds still showing! Others including Twende and the yet to be named individual ‘063’ were also identified.
The group were at first travelling fast in a southerly direction, then their pace slowed, with a couple of individuals approaching the boat to bow ride. This enabled us to get good shots of the dorsal fins, which will be used for photo-identification in our mark-recapture study. Unfortunately we also noticed an adult and juvenile that appeared skinny compared to the rest, with their ribs visible. We hope this wasn’t a sign of illness in the population or lack of food in the area… After taking enough photos we left them to continue south to the open sea.
The dolphins had done us a service, leading us to the start of the snorkel transect our survey leader had selected for the day, by Kisite Island… and it turned out to be the perfect day to pick this transect! As we climbed out of the water to board the boat post-survey, everyone’s face was an absolute picture: 3 hawksbill turtles, 5 green turtles and 1 moray eel! Ruth and I even had the pleasure of watching one of the green turtles swim slowly to the surface, stop for a few seconds and then continue to raise its head out the water, beak open for a gasp of air. This was closely followed by us both surfacing and giggling hysterically with joy having witnessed a behaviour in full that we had only seen before from above the surface as a turtle’s head appear and disappear in a second!
With the weather being on our side, we decided to return towards Funzi Bay again, but the sea was just a little too rough, so we diverted in to Wasini channel. Within 5 minutes of turning the boat around there was a shout from Katalin at the front, “DOLPHIN”, followed quickly by “HUMPBACK DOLPHIN!”. We had to wait 10 minutes for the individual to reappear, a very large Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin that seemed curiously darker than usual. We put this down to the glare of the sun, and waited for what we thought was a lone individual to resurface. Then two individuals surfaced riding a wave, both smaller than the first. Several more minutes of waiting and we were shocked to see not only the three individuals from before, but another two adults and calf!
We continued to watch them for 20 minutes as they were feeding, coming up for several breaths before peduncle dives took them under for several minutes. After surfacing for the third time, in unison, they formed a compact group, changed direction and headed south, crossing the channel towards Wasini Island. We were able to compare the colouration of the first individual and yes, he was distinctly darker, not something we had seen before. The mother of the calf had a deep scar around her neck, possibly from a fishing line. Only 2 weeks ago an individual was spotted with a huge chunk out the back of his dorsal fin, the shape suggestive of a boat propeller injury. Both these wounds emphasize the humpback dolphin’s vulnerability to fishing activities, boat traffic and marine debris around coast lines. But fortunately also an ability to recover from significant injury.
All in all it was quite an epic day for our research team and for me one of complete brilliance!
Tags: bottlenose dolphin, Cetacean research, dolphin research, funzi bay, green turtle, hawksbill turtle, humpback dolphin, Kisite Mpunguti MPA, turtle research, wasini channel
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