Programmes
Local
Ocean Trust (LOT) has many ongoing activities, outlined below.
Our volunteers are encouraged to
participate fully in as many of these as possible, including
our flagship project “Watamu Turtle Watch”.
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1. Conservation & Research
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| Marine
turtle nest protection and research programme Watamu
has a small but nationally important nesting population of sea
turtles, with around 60 nests a year in Watamu/Malindi Marine
Parks and Reserves. WTW has a nest
protection program, which works in co-operation with
local people & Kenya Wildlife Service to protect all nests
laid on
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Watamu
and Malindi beaches. Local
participation is encouraged through a financial incentive
scheme. Daily patrols check for nesting turtles, and tracks in
the sand that indicate new nests. Nesting turtles that are
encountered are tagged and biometric data collected. Schedules
are continuously organised to protect and monitor incubating
and hatching nests. Nests are allowed to incubate in situ
unless they have been laid in an area threatened by sea wash,
in which case they are carefully relocated to a safe area.
Research is also carried out on hatching success and DNA
material is collected from the nesting population.
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Marine
turtle net release, research and tagging
programme This
program was set up in collaboration with local fishing
communities to encourage fishermen to release, rather than
slaughter, turtles that get accidentally caught in their
fishing gears. A financial incentive is provided by WTW to
compensate for any fishing gear damage and the time and
trouble taken in notifying WTW about the captured turtle. WTW
records biometric data, collects DNA material, and tags the
turtle before releasing it. WTW has released up to 544 turtles
a year. Research focuses on evaluation of local foraging
population dynamics, growth rates, movements, ecology and
frequency of capture.
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| We have recently launched an online turtle
adoption site at www.adoptaseaturtle.com
which sells adoption packages for our released turtles and
protected nests, this is helping to raise funding for the WTW
program.
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| Turtle rehabilitation
In
2003 WTW set up a simple rehabilitation facility where sick
turtles can be cared for and rehabilitated back into the wild.
Each year WTW is brought sick and injured turtles, which
previously we were unable to treat. WTW has linked up with a
local vet to provide the necessary medical advice.
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a juvenile green turtle
out of the rehab tank and in feeding position with
Kahindi
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Other conservation
& research work
LOT
undertakes a range of other conservation & research
activities, locally and nationally, including:
- Research
into the socio-economics
of fishing communities and their fishing practices.
- Patrols
and networking to collect information on the levels and types
of illegal and destructive marine resource exploitation both
in our area and along the coast. Regular reports are provided
to stakeholders and authorities. By the middle of 2004 we will
start a new initiative of joint community/LOT/KWS boat
patrols in the Watamu area using our new boat.
- Baseline
surveys into the status of marine
turtle populations along sections of the Kenyan coast.
- Surveys
of the current problems, and potential threats, from tourism in the marine environment
- Research
and remedial action concerning the local sea
urchin population explosion.
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Research into the extent and type of mangrove
destruction in the Mida area, with an accompanying mangrove
replanting program.
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2. Education & Awareness
Programmes
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LOT
& WTW conduct marine environment and sea turtle
conservation education and awareness programs in villages,
fish landing sites, schools and hotels within the Watamu area.
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| We
conduct an education program at seven local schools in the Watamu area, as well as a local orphanage. Turtle Clubs have been set up and the education team
visits the schools to conduct marine conservation workshops.
We try to instill in the children an appreciation of their
natural heritage, with pupils learning about their local
environment, marine turtles and the threats they face. |
(Wall
painting on Watamu Primary School) |
We
try to create awareness of the important inter-relationships
between biodiversity, healthy ecosystem functioning, and the
economic wellbeing of local people. Children are encouraged to
take part in conservation and to realise that they have a
contribution to make by adapting their lifestyles towards
sustainable use of natural resources. Interactive education
techniques are used in classes, working on a fun and informal
approach, supplemented by slide shows on sea turtles,
mangroves, coral reefs and the coastal ecosystem as a whole.
Periodic 'Marine
Awareness Days' are also organized, where schools come
together to participate in conservation art,
drama and poetry
competitions; as well as beach clean-ups. We also organize
periodic workshops for non-school attending children.
In
2002 LOT initiated a specialized education program targeting
the dominant Muslim fisher population of the coast. Using an
already established educational slide show which links
principles of Islam
to conservation, LOT is trying to create a greater
conservation ethic through religion by carrying out workshops
at local madrasas (Islamic religious schools) and eventually
to adults through the mosques.
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(Dance during
tutrtle conservation rally)
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LOT
also conducts education and awareness activities in local
villages and at fish landing sites, primarily targeting local
fishermen. The theme is the same as with the schools, using
direct and informal methods of communicating with communities.
Through local community conservation groups that LOT has
established, or assisted in developing, we provide advice and
encouragement in use of more sustainable fishing methods as
well as in conservation efforts such as mangrove replanting.
We also provide advice and links to other organizations on
developing sustainable alternative sources of income. LOT is
trying to expand these educational activities to coastal areas
outside of Watamu and will work with Kenya Sea Turtle
Conservation Committee to this affect.
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(Mangrove planting
in Mida Creek)
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| LOT
has an education campaign directed at tourists. We have
distributed marine environment and sea turtle conservation
literature to hotels and tourists.
We conduct turtle educational slide shows at a few
local hotels and guesthouses. We have developed information
poster boards on sea turtles and mangroves at Watamu KWS
offices. We also erect our own information notice boards at
key sites to help ensure tourists are aware of the protected
marine park status and how to minimize negative impacts on the
turtle nesting site and marine habitat.
WTW
provides advice and conducts training work in sea turtle
conservation techniques to a variety of groups and
individuals. For example, we have done training work with
established marine conservation groups both in Kenya and
Tanzania, as well as government bodies such as Fisheries and
KWS. We also help with advice and training to small local
groups and individuals interested in helping sea turtles. WTW
has in the past provided an internship program training Kenyan
graduate students in sea turtle and marine conservation
techniques, encompassing field, education and community work.
In
September 2003, LOT opened the Local
Ocean Marine Centre in Watamu, an interactive and
educational centre that promotes marine conservation, inviting
locals and tourists to learn about the area’s unique
environment. The
Centre is the first of its kind on the Kenyan Coast,
celebrating the varied marine habitats of Watamu. Attractive
murals and illustrated displays provide fascinating
information on inter-tidal zones, coral reefs, open ocean,
mangroves, turtles and Mida creek; as well as fishing methods,
threats and local news. The
Centre includes educational games for children and a resource
zone with video and library.
A key aim
is to imbue an appreciation of the beauty and wonders of the
marine world, particularly the underwater one, which few
Kenyans have had the opportunity to witness. There are many
opportunities for interaction, including ‘thinking and ideas
contribution points’ and a children’s area. Community and
student group visits are encouraged from local and outreaching
areas and there are plans for the centre to double as a
training centre for marine conservation in the future.
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3. Community development
At the end
of 2000 WTW began initiating a community development program
as an important means to support our conservation and
education programs. By holding discussions with local fishing
communities we identified conservation issues and their
sources in poverty, population pressure and unsustainable
resource use. The local fishermen were requesting assistance
in dealing with these problems but had no organized structure
to facilitate this, or to begin taking action themselves. As a
result WTW/LOT advised and assisted fishermen at landing sites
both at sea and in Mida Creek to form community conservation
groups. LOT has now established 8 such groups and assists and
works in conjunction with a total of 11 local community
conservation groups.
Community
group development enables fishermen to pool together to begin
to better manage local natural resources, voice their concerns
to outside agencies and attract funding assistance. The groups
provide a forum for discussing fishing related issues /
problems and finding sustainable solutions and alternatives to
current destructive natural resource use activities, thereby
ensuring long term community contribution to conservation of
the local ecosystem.
LOT
provides technical and practical support to these groups. We
provide advice and awareness in areas in which we have
knowledge and help put groups in contact with other
organizations that can assist them in achieving their goals.
Community groups are now being encouraged to help conserve
their resources themselves by educating their community
members in adopting non-destructive fishing practices,
reporting illegal marine exploitation activities and
undertaking hands on conservation work such as replanting
mangroves. LOT is also exploring and assisting in the
development of alternative income generating projects for the
community groups, examples include mariculture in Mida Creek and handicraft
production.
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| 4. Campaigning Illegal
/ destructive marine resource use
LOT
collects information on illegal poaching and fishing incidents
and any other deleterious marine related events in Kenya and
passes this information onto the responsible authorities and
other stakeholders.
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| Through
our work with communities and presence in the field we are
able to provide important information for the authorities and
pressure for improved management. We campaign to increase KWS
and Fisheries patrols to protect marine resources and sea
turtles, as well as changes to the law where weaknesses exist.
We also campaign for communities to adopt more sustainable
fishing practices.
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(Traditional
fishing methods)
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Trawlers
In
co-operation with other local stakeholders, WTW is conducting
a largely successful campaign to enforce strict controls on
destructive trawling activities in Kenya. We have been
compiling information on the destructive impacts of trawlers
operating in Kenya and lobbying the authorities to properly
enforce the law regarding trawling.
WTW
was designated by the government to represent all conservation
groups on a scientific research task force to investigate the
socio-economic and environmental impacts of trawling in Kenya.
The findings of this research will provide the basis of a
decision to be taken on the future of trawling in Kenya.
One success already
achieved in this campaign was legislation in 2001 that
requires all trawlers to include Turtle Excluder Devices
(TEDs) in their nets to prevent the drowning of hundreds of
turtles a year that get captured in trawl nets.
Protecting the Riparian Strip of Watamu Marine Park
LOT campaigns against
threats to the natural habitats behind the beach (known as the
“riparian strip”) of Watamu Marine Park. LOT works with
the authorities to curb illegal land grabbing, destruction of
protected habitat, and noise and light pollution. We also
conduct awareness programs on the park’s laws and
ecofriendly policy for tourism businesses and landowners
bordering the riparian strip.
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