Engaging the Nicaraguan surfing community in coastal conservation

From our friends at the SIMA Environmental Fund:

For Immediate Release

SIMA’S 23^rd ANNUAL WATERMAN'S WEEKEND TO BENEFIT 20 OCEAN ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

- Waterman’s Weekend Sponsorships Available Now -

ALISO VIEJO, CALIF. (May 29, 2012) – The Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) Environmental Fund announced today the 20 ocean-environmental organizations named as beneficiaries of the 23^rd Annual Waterman's Weekend, the surf industry's annual environmental fundraiser to be held August 10-11, 2012. The weekend begins Friday, August 10, with the Waterman’s Classic Golf Tournament at the Monarch Beach Golf Links, and culminates on Saturday, August 11, with the Waterman’s Ball and auction to be held at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, Calif.  

The SIMA Environmental Fund aims to continue the record fundraising legacy and raise the amount of $400,000 at the 2012 Waterman's Weekend. To help achieve this goal, Waterman’s Weekend sponsorship opportunities are now available. The deadline to commit to Waterman’s Ball sponsorships is June 1 and the deadline for the Waterman’s Classic Golf Tournament sponsorships is July 20. For more information on sponsorships, please visit www.WatermansWeekend.com.

All proceeds will be distributed in the form of SIMA Environmental Fund grants to the 20 beneficiary groups. The funds will be dedicated to programs that will address water quality and ocean pollution issues; defend beaches and surf breaks from development; or provide public education about ocean conservation.

“The SIMA Environmental Fund is extremely proud to fund and support the positive environmental impact of the 20 Waterman’s Weekend beneficiary organizations as each one of the beneficiaries is crucial to preserving and protecting our most valuable asset – the ocean.” said Paul Naude, chairman of the SIMA Environmental Fund Board and President of Billabong Americas. “Covering a broad spectrum, the beneficiaries’ environmental work ranges from ocean education, to pollution research, to government lobbying to ocean and surf protection-activism. The surf industry’s very lifestyle and survival depends on the work of these organizations and we look forward to raising funds during Waterman’s Weekend that will go directly to these causes.”

Following is a list of the 2012 SIMA Environmental Fund grant recipients along with a description of the program(s) to which the organizations will be directing their grants:

Alaska Wilderness League: Dedicated funds will assist with advocating for a comprehensive federal,science-based planning process and to pursue actions to protect Arctic marine ecosystems and subsistence resources from further harm from industrial activities.

Algalita Marine Research Foundation: Funds will be used towards the Plastic Ocean Pollution Solutions Youth Summit.  The Summit will teach students about the problems resulting from plastic marine debris in the world's oceans.

Assateague Coastal Trust: Dedicated funds will assist with watershed patrols, water quality monitoring and the Chesapeake Agricultural Practices Campaign. The funds will also benefit Coast Kids, a family-focused environmental education program, and Grow Berlin Green, a campaign to establish Berlin, Maryland, as a model community for environmental protection.

Cook Inletkeeper: Funds will be used for outreach and education efforts to reduce toxic pollutants entering the North Pacific Gyre. Efforts will revolve around the Electronics Recycling Day in Homer, Alaska.

Heal the Bay: Funds will support the health and safety research of more than 500 beaches and watersheds from Oregon to the border of Mexico for Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card program for one full year.

KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance: Funds will be used to build a coalition of Hawaiian oceans activists by challenging nearshore development, defending public beach access, building educational materials advocating for public policies and developing an Action Alert Network.

North Shore Community Land Trust (NSCLT): Funds will be used to permanently protect Pupukea Paumalu and the local waters, community stewardship of public beach access, and other efforts to preserve Oahu’s North Shore.

Ocean Defenders Alliance: Funds will go to expanding their marine debris and underwater clean-up campaign’s range of operations in La Jolla, Coronado Islands, Point Vicente and the Infidel wreck restoration by Catalina Island.

Ocean Institute: Funds will support the Watershed Education Program designed for students for hands-on education about the environmental impact of their behaviors.

Orange County CoastKeeper: Funds will support efforts to reduce the health threats caused by urban runoff pollution in Orange County, Calif., through advocacy, enforcement, education, collaboration, and water monitoring efforts.

Paso Pacifico: Funds will be dedicated to engaging the local Nicaraguan surfing community in protecting their marine and coastal environment through education and coastal clean-ups, as well as helping strengthen the Nicaraguan Surfrider Foundation chapter.

Reef Check: Funds will be used for the continued expansion of the Reef Check California program and its goal to improve marine management in California through education, training and community engagement.

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper: Funds will assist their Advocacy and Enforcement Program which will reduce disposable shopping bag use, compel the city of Santa Barbara to repair aging sewage systems and help the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board to enact a Total Max Daily Load program to address excessive nutrients in the Ventura River.

Santa Monica Baykeeper: Dedicated funds will assist their DrainWatch Water Quality Monitoring Program which will identify the dominant sources of pollution in Santa Monica Bay through end of pipe monitoring. 

Save the Waves Coalition: Funds will assist their World Surfing Reserves program to preserve outstanding waves and surf zones around the world; Endangered Waves program that encourages communities worldwide toe address threats to the surfing coastline; and also their Chile Program that is designed to reduce industrial pollution in several coastal areas with world-class surf.

Seymour Marine Discovery Center: Funds will be used towards their school programs, including their exhibit hall enhancement, exhibit renovations and volunteer training. These programs educate the public about the role marine science plays in understanding and conserving the world's oceans.

SINADES - Natural Systems and Development Civil Association: Funds will be used for their Young Environmental Ambassadors program, which empowers a group of local youth to conserve and protect the community's most important resources - the beaches and surf breaks of Todos Santos and Pescadero, B.C. S., Mexico.

Surfing Education Association: Dedicated funds will be used to stop illegal shark feeding in Hawaii, stop sand dumping on Waikiki Beach, increase public access on the North Shore and monitor the increase of boat slips that may change surf sites at Kewalo and Ala WaiHarbor. Surfrider Foundation: Funds will enable efforts to save, improve and protect surf locations, protect the quality of water in the surf zone, ocean environmental education, as well as the continued fight to protect Trestles. WiLDCOAST: Dedicated funds will support the conservation of threatened surfing areas on the Baja California Peninsula through public and private land conservations, WiLDCOAST chapter development in Punta Abreojos, Bahia Asuncion and Bahia Magdalena.

Each organization was chosen by the SIMA Environmental Fund Board of Directors based on their commitment of funds to specific projects that will protect and preserve oceans, beaches and/or surf breaks.

In selecting the 2012 SIMA Environmental Fund grant recipients, the SIMA Environmental Fund Board of Directors requested that applicants submit a proposal detailing how the funds would be used to improve the ocean ecology or surf locations. Each organization's proposal included a description of the specific program that the grant would be directed to, including the expected environmental impact.

In addition to raising money for the ocean environment, Waterman’s Weekend will also honor big wave surfer Shane Dorian as Waterman of the Year, world renowned ocean explorer, filmmaker, television personality and environmentalist Jean-Michel Cousteau as Environmentalist of the Year, and revolutionary wave forecaster and surfing Hall of Famer the late Sean Collins with the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award. For more information about the SIMA Environmental Fund or how to secure a Waterman’s Weekend sponsorship, please visit www.WatermansWeekend.com.

The Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) is the official working trade association of more than 300 surf industry suppliers. Founded in 1989, SIMA is a non-profit organization that serves to promote awareness of the surf industry and participation in the sport of surfing through public relations efforts and a variety of services, educational programs and research. In addition, SIMAactively supports oceanic environmental efforts through its 501(c)(3) charitable environmental foundation, the SIMA Environmental Fund. In the past 22 years, SIMA's Environmental Fund has raised more than $5.8 million for environmental groups seeking to protect the world's oceans, beaches andwaves. The SIMA Humanitarian Fund, also a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation, was established in 2006 to award grants to various surf or boardsport related social and humanitarian non-profit organizations whose efforts are focused on improving the quality of life, health and/or welfare of people.   

# # # 

Mandy Lausché
Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA)
Communications Manager
8 Argonaut, Suite 170
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
ph: 949.366.1164 x7
fax: 949.454.1406
mandy@sima.com
www.sima.com twitter.com/SIMA_Surf

WATERMAN'S WEEKEND
AUGUST 10 & 11, 2012 
THE RITZ-CARLTON, LAGUNA NIGUEL
HONORING: SHANE DORIAN, JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU & SEAN COLLINS
HTTP://WWW.WATERMANSWEEKEND.COM

Hot Nests Mean Baked Baby Leatherbacks

Today at the New York Times Green blog:

On beaches, poachers snatch up their eggs and babies for stewing; at sea, adults get snagged by fishermen’s long lines and nets. Now, climate change joins the list, threatening the survival of critically endangered leatherback sea turtles in the Pacific.

Turtles, the article explains, will have an especially difficult time adapting to climate change for a couple of reasons. First, moving farther north to cooler nesting beaches means a greater risk of poachers away from places like Costa Rica and our beaches in Nicaragua, where turtles are protected. Second, sea turtles often don't nest until they are 30 years old. With so few generations between now and the time nesting beaches become inhabitable, there is little time for natural selection to kick in.

For now, Dr. Spotila sees leatherback survival as a constant struggle. While other researchers fight to alleviate the threats that fisheries and development pose to adult leatherbacks, he grapples with how to make the beach more favorable for nestlings. Although national parks prevent egg poaching, conservationists now face the prospect of having to either install miles of sprinkler units to keep eggs moist, or to devise a shading system to cool hundreds of nests.

Who will solve this problem?
We are among those working to alleviate the threats of fisheries and development, and protect Leatherback, Olive Ridley, Hawksbill, and Green sea turtles. We are pleased to share the many ways we are working to mitigate climate change and ensure the survival of sea turtles.

Meet Our Turtle Rangers: Paso Pacifico's Turtle Rangers form the "thin green line" between critically endangered sea turtles and would-be poachers and predators. (Watch our Ranger Slideshow.)

Turtle-friendly Fisheries: Our sustainable fisheries program helps fishermen transition away from gill nets to turtle-friendly fishing gear.

Mitigating Climate Change: Our reforestation projects help mitigate climate change.

You can help!
      Sponsor a junior turtle ranger.
      Protect a turtle nest.
      Replace a gill net.
      Plant a tree.

Encourage your friends to show support:
      Like us Facebook
      Follow us on Twitter
      Subscribe to our newsletter
      Share our YouTube videos

The Importance of Science Transfer

As part of their Global Reset series, Seed Magazine explores how a reformation of the culture and practice of science could help the scientific community respond to global challenges:

An interdisciplinary approach is necessary for the weighty, interconnected problems—from sustainable development to climate change—that are most in need of science transfer. And bringing scientists and their ideas together is a dependable way of generating new ideas, sometimes of the world-changing variety.   

At Paso Pacifico, we depend on the latest, most cutting edge conservation science to inform all of our decision-making and to help endangered plants and wildlife avoid extinction and thrive in their natural habitats. We collaborate with Nicaraguan universities, international scientists, and other researchers to bring the newest scientific knowledge into the field, where science-based monitoring gauges the effectiveness of our conservation programs.

We also work to empower citizen scientists, because we agree with Alfsen-Norodom:

“Knowledge is not exclusively limited to the university. There is local knowledge from indigenous people, especially on the environment."

In addition to bolstering conservation efforts, we provide scientific tools and field training to schoolchildren, young scientists, and others. We conduct biodiversity monitoring by partnering with local landowners and fishermen who receive careful training and help conduct baseline studies and monitor wildlife.

In another Seed piece specifically on Creating Citizen Scientists, Dave Munger explains its importance:

Citizen science isn’t just a public relations exercise: it makes a significant contribution to the corpus of scientific knowledge. Improved public awareness of science is an important additional benefit, but it’s not the primary goal of citizen science. Rather, this emerging technique allows scientists to make use of what is still the most powerful computational resource on the planet: the human brain.

The social sciences are also a critical component of Paso Pacific’s Conservation Science program and our efforts to strengthen local communities. Ethnographic, socio-economic data, and livelihood-specific data help Paso Pacifico to better understand attitudes towards wildlife and to identify the social drivers of land use along corridors. We use this information to collaborate with communities to identify restoration needs and innovative ways to preserve natural resources. 
Our interdisciplinary approach along with our commitment to working with multiple partners stakeholders allow us to harness science and achieve measurable results.

Conservationists' Catch-22

The Independent asks what to do when one endangered species starts eating another:

That is the problem facing environmentalists whose research shows that jaguars, themselves at risk of extinction, are increasingly preying on endangered turtle species.

Experts said that the predation of adult turtles by the big cats in a Costa Rican national park “has now reached a magnitude never before recorded”.

“More and more jaguars are being pushed towards the coastline, where they find sea turtles, which are easy prey,” said Diogo Verissimo, researcher with the Durrell Institute of Ecology and Conservation and Global Vision International.

Native Bees in Central America

Image courtesy of Gus Harper, artist

Many people have been highlighting the importance of bees lately. Much of the news has been bad: bees disappearing, crops failing, etc. Fortunately, while climate change, shifts in agriculture, deforestation, and other factors have threatened some bee populations, it is possible for bees to make a comeback. The really good news is we can help.

Dating back to the time of the Great Pyramids, humans have practiced beekeeping, and, as Gene Kritsky writes, "in the millennia since, we have continued to study and improve upon beehive designs, making beekeeping the modern science it is today." He's right. Urban beekeeping is on the rise in the United States. Bee doctor Noah Wilson-Rich, PhD is helping city dwellers plant rooftop and other gardens to provide habitat for foraging honeybees. And yesterday CNN's Next List introduced us to Andrew Coté of Bees Without Borders, dedicated to poverty alleviation through beekeeping.

In Nicaragua, we're alleviating poverty and protecting biodiversity by reviving the ancient tradition of meliponiculture, the management of Melipona and Trigona bees, as practiced by the Mayans. Wild bees, which nest in hollow trees and ground cavities, are brought home by beekeepers who maintain healthy bee colonies and harvest honey and other hive products.

Our intern, Sarah Rudeen, is headed to San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico to join Nicaraguan biologists at a conference and workshop organized by the Mexican university Eco-Sur to learn about native beekeeping and commercializing bee and honey products for the benefit of communities. Not only does the honey provide a valuable source of calories in a an area where food security is not always completely stable, it provides a means of income for the beekeeper and his or her family. In addition, bees provide valuable ecosystem services.

Native bees maintain year-round pollination services in dry tropical forests, like those found in Nicaragua. While the nesting and breeding seasons of large bees match the blooming seasons in dry forests, small bees visit and pollinate flowers throughout the year. Bees pollinate valuable cash crops in rural Nicaragua, and provide an estimated 50% of pollination in dry forests. We might say the importance of bees to the biodiversity of Central America is immeasurable, but we're actually working on ways to quantify the value of the ecosystem services bees (and other pollinators, like bats) provide.

When our newly trained team of meliponiculturists return to Nicaragua, armed with information from Mexican beekeepers and entomologists, they will revive a rich cultural history and help individuals and local cooperatives save local ecosystems and launch new business ventures to economically empower rural communities.

We are grateful to the Turner Foundation for their support of our beekeeping program. 

If you are interested, you can also make a contribution to our efforts to restore the ancient practice of meliponiculture for poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation.