Ecotourism

What is ecotourism? (The International Ecotourism Society)
https://www.ecotourism.org/what-is-ecotourism


What is ecotourism? (The Nature Conservency)
http://www.nature.org/greenliving/what-is-ecotourism.xml


Ecotourism: the promise and perils of environmentally-oriented travel.
http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/ecotour/overview.php


Ecotourism: green problem or green solution
http://blog.nature.org/conservancy/2009/11/04/ecotourism-green-problem-green-solution-matt-miller-nature-conservancy/


Googling  "what is ecotourism", "benefits of ecotourism", "problems with ecotourism", and similar subjects will give you tons of material.


Assignment


Due Tuesday, April 1st


In 2 pages, double spaced with normal margins, .... define ecotourism and discuss two potential benefits and problems associated with ecotourism.

Article about "Sea Gypsies" in Thailand/Myanmar

Hi,

I just saw this online today.

Last of the Moken Sea Nomads- a culture fallen victim to overfishing in Thailand

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/last-of-the-moken-sea-nomads-a-culture-fallen-victim-to-overfishing-in-thailand-slideshow/

The Onion's take on Biodiversity and Extinction

Scientists Find Thousands Of Previously Undiscovered Species Cowering In Amazon Rainforest

http://www.theonion.com/articles/scientists-find-thousands-of-previously-undiscover,28281/


Proud Species Commits Suicide Rather Than Be Driven To Extinction by Humans
http://www.theonion.com/articles/proud-species-commits-suicide-rather-than-be-drive,31449/

Habitat Destruction in Tropical Ecosystems

Readings


Hazards to Coral Reefs (NOAA)
http://www.coris.noaa.gov/about/hazards/


Coral Reef Threats (WWF)
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/coasts/coral_reefs/coral_threats/


A world without coral reefs (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/14/opinion/a-world-without-coral-reefs.html


Overfishing (National Geographic)
http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-overfishing/


Overfishing (WWF)
http://worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing






Videos


Protecting Thailand's Mangroves (WWF)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzYJWRGUSUI


Jeremy Jackson: How we wrecked the planet (TED)
http://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_jackson


Coral reef fish danger (BBC)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbN161yBBGA
Temengor- Biodiversity in the Face of Danger

part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_788801&feature=iv&src_vid=dBN7RGa9-f0&v=kBUyCAg2XrI

part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBN7RGa9-f0

Borneo- Deforestation and Oil Palm Plantations

http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/55061197

The Importance of Affection

Hello Everyone,


This morning I came across an article published in the Chronicle of Higher Education called "Practicing Affection in the Academy".  Although the essay was mostly focused on how we should conduct higher education, I think that some of his thoughts might apply quite well to some of the issues that we have been thinking about, and will be thinking about more in the future.


I don't know if you are going to be able to read this link or not.  If you can't and are interested in reading the full article, then let me know.


https://chroniclevitae.com/news/375-practicing-affection-in-the-academy?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en


Here is what I consider to be the critical piece...


Last year the poet, writer, and aging agrarian radical Wendell Berry gave a lecture at the National Endowment for the Humanities. The talk was titled "It All Turns on Affection." Rehearsing the well-known problems facing American society, Berry traced the roots of the current ecological crisis, the increasing corporatization and alienation of modern life, and even the recent financial crisis, to a loss of affection—a sentiment, Berry argued, that if properly cultivated can save us from ourselves.


The crux of Berry's argument is that people are limited beings. They will only properly understand and care for those things they can readily imagine, things that fall within the scope of individual experience. Our current predicament is mainly due to the scale of modern life and the disappearance of the circumstances in which imagination and sympathy, the wellsprings of affection, can flourish. Most importantly, Berry argues it is only on the basis of these local affections that “we see the need to grant a sort of preemptive sympathy to all the fellow members, the neighbors, with whom we share the world.”

Interesting story about the indirect effects of wolves in Yellowstone National Park.


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/10/opinion/is-the-wolf-a-real-american-hero.html?ref=opinion&_r=1

World's Biggest Tree

Here is a link to a National Geographic site that contains photos of the largest tree in the world.  USA! USA!


http://www.distractify.com/geek/science/after-126-separate-photos-scientists-have-captured-this-incredibly-tall-tree-in-a-single-image/

People and the Sea: Badjau at Mabul Island

A group of about a dozen boats was anchored off the shore of our resort for the entire time that we were there. People are living on these boats. At least they have a great view of the sunset.


It seems that each of these boats is home to one family. I was able to count two parents and six kids living on one boat.


With so little privacy, I am not sure how the parents have time to make more kids!


When I saw the Sea Gypsys at Sibuan Island during my last visit to Sabah I noticed that many of the women had green stuff on their faces (you can see it on the woman wearing black). At first I wandered if it was some sort of religious ritual, but someone told me that that was some sort of beauty treatment. It apparently works because some of the young women were strikingly attractive. Of course it is possible that some of the "old ladies" are really 20 years younger than I am.


Kayaking.


During low tide, they foraged on the reef. I am not sure exactly what they were collecting. These guys poled (like a gondola) their canoe in search of goodies.


Some of the women collected along the shore. It appears that the "Donald Duck" look is popular with some of the kids.


Many of the women and children waded through the water. There were signs along the beach saying that guests should be careful because the sandy area near the shore were full of stingrays and poisonous scorpionfish. I wonder how often they get stung?




At least they had a short communte from home.


I wish that this picture had turned out better. I was trying to get the Sea Gypsies collecting from the sea in the same photo as the Malaysian flag. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib frequently states that "Malaysia will be a high income nation by 2020". It looks to me like they still have a long way to go. Of course, it is possible that these Sea Gypsys are people without a country who are not actually citizens anywhere. It is not surprising that they are often ignored.




There do not appear to be any child labor laws.




You can see the flames from the fire that is cooking up today's dinner.

Mabul Sunsets


These sunset photos were taken from the patio surrounding the bar at the dive resort where I stayed when I visited Pulau Mabul.  The Badjau boats are in the foreground.

People and the Sea: The Badjau at Sibuan Island

Sea Gypsies of Sibuan Island

One of the best parts of spending a little time on Sibuan Island between dives was that I got to spend some time wandering around the small sea gypsy village located there. What a beautiful place to live, but what a primitive life style! The goal of the Malaysian government is for Malaysia to be a "high income nation" by 2020. They still have a long way to go on Sibuan!!









The man in the blue shirt is "digging out" his dugout canoe.




Because we were there during the middle of the day, most of the sensible adults were either out fishing or were resting in the shade of their homes. One interesting thing was that some of the women appeared to have white or green paint on their faces. You can almost see that in this photo.


Kids of Sibuan

Although Sibuan Island is the classic tropical paradise and I enjoyed seeing the local village, a visit to Sibuan was pretty depressing. We were met on the beach by q bunch of local kids who apparently knew only three words of English- Hello, money. and ringgit (the Malaysian currency). Every kid on the island came up to all of us, held out their hands, and said "hello, money". Eventually, I had to show them that I had no money by showing them what was in the empty pockets of my bathing suit. I worry about the apparently bleak future facing these kids.

"Hello, money"


"Money, money, ringitt, money"


The kids all liked seeing their photos on my digital camera. They also liked taking photos of me. Here is a picture with all of us.


Water Villages

Some people, who I assume are Bajau, live in houses built on stilts in the middle of the bay.

\

People of the Sea: The Badjau

"Sea gypsy" is a term that refers to several groups of peoples living near the sea in various parts of South East Asia. I have run across sea gypsies before in Indonesia and also in the Philippines. The main group of sea gypsies in Sabah are the Badjau who originated in the Philippines. Many Bajau have spread south to Malaysia during the last 50 years.



Sea Gypsys-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Gypsies
Bajau People http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajau_people


The Bajau Laut http://theaquaticape.org/sea-nomads/ny-sida-test/


The last of the sea nomads
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/sep/18/last-sea-nomads


Unsustainable sea-farers: the last Bajau sea nomads
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2010/sep/20/bajau-sea-nomads


Prezi  (not sure who made this... but it has some nice photos)
Bajau Culture: People of the Sea
http://prezi.com/zfm_vsdhkrun/badjau-culture-people-of-the-sea/


Video


Badjau Laut (BBC)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaGHjSaCW6A


The Sea Gypsies of Malaysia: Les Stroud
http://veehd.com/video/4754999_Beyond-Survival-with-Les-Stroud-s01e02-The-Sea-Gypsies-Of-Malaysia


Indonesian Film


The Mirror Never Lies (trailer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAiki5BQRug

People and the Sea: Kampung Mabul

Mabul Island is located about 45 minutes by boat from Semporna.   Because they get a lot of visitors to the island (mostly divers) people were friendly, especially the kids (see the next post).  Kampung Mabul is mainly a Malay village, I think.







Drying out seaweed.





Cock fighting seems like a popular "sport" in the Kampung.




Malaysians take their shoes off before entering their houses.


Building his own boat.













Drying out seaweed.





Cock fighting seems like a popular "sport" in the Kampung.




Malaysians take their shoes off before entering their houses.


Building his own boat.






I hate getting caught when I take pictures of people. Either I wasn't very good at lurking in the bushes or else my lens wasn't long enough.



The Kampung Kids


I think that I may have mentioned this before, but one thing I have learned is that if you take an interest in people's kids then their parents are much more accepting of you wandering around sticking your nose into their lives and taking pictures of them. The kids on Mabul were all happy to have their photos taken. They were all so cute that they even make me look like a good photographer.



A day at the beach.


"Peace ya"ll".


When I came upon these kids they were trying to stand up on a big log that was floating near the shore. I wanted to get photos of them "log rolling" but anytime that I pulled out my camera they just started to pose.


This girl was working in a shop selling sea shells, corals, and dried fish. Because I am sure that almost everything she was selling was gathered illegally I couldn't spend any money in her store.


Three cool dudes!


This girl was working in a little stall selling bake goods that her mother cooked up. I bought a bag of cakes from her. They weren't really very good, but I was glad that I got to add a little to the local economy.


This little girls was sitting on her grandma's lap on the front porch of her house when I walked by. At first she was shy but then, with Grannie's encouragement, she was willing to have me take her photo.


These guys are the sibs of the little girl in the previous photo. They were not as photogenic as their little sister.


Playing with bubbles.




These girls are pumping water from the well.