We're Going To Need A Bigger Boat
Just another WordPress.com weblogSchool trips and reconnecting.
It always amazes me how people can be oblivious to things in their own back yard.
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Questions and Answers
Before I came out here, and indeed since i’ve arrived, I was/am asked many questions about the programme.
Most of them are fairly straightforward…. normally such menial questions as “What are you doing there” or “Are there many whale sharks in the Maldives?”. My ususal response to such inquiries is a prompt referral to the MWSRP website, which is far more detailed and interesting than I would ever have the patience to be. Indeed I wouldn’t attempt to convey the range of activities undertaken by the programme in this blog; it would be too laborious for me and too long winded for you. Occasionally, however, I’m asked a question that requires a slightly less automated response. Yesterday, for example, I was asked how the MWSRP was involving the local community and what the perception of the research was with the Maldivian people? How can I start to answer that with a weblink?!
I’ll come back to that question in a minute, but first, a quick rundown of how things work here. There is a core team of Richard, Adam, Rachel and Ben, and then the volunteer team, currently comprising of myself, Ayesha, Darren and Karen. We split our time between the Conrad on Rangali island (a ‘six-star’ resort and principle sponsors of the MWSRP) and our little Dhouni, or research boat. A lot of what we do is cruising up and down the reef, looking for whale sharks, which is far more tiring than I would have thought possible.
Anybody seen a shark?
When we’re not squinting into the water all day there may be a visit to a local island or a meeting with local fisherman. Every week or so there will be a guest trip, where the team will take out guests from the Conrad to experience the joy of swimming with a whale shark. Then in the evenings its back to I.D the sharks seen that day and catch up with emails. By about 9, we’re all absolutely knackered, and we might get through one episode of Entourage (we like Ari’s ranting) before the lights go out. 6am next morning the whole process starts all over again.
There seems to be so much to do all the time, and I can’t emphasise how hard Adam and Rich have to work to make the programme viable. As volunteers we have it lucky, we can concentrate on spotting sharks and having a good time. For the team here permanently, its a challenge to make sure that the whale sharks are protected and the local people incentivised; the hope is that one day the programme will be run by the Maldivian people.
So back to that question. The perception is, by and large, very good. Since the programme was launched in 2006, they have constantly met with island chiefs, spoke to local operators and done everything possible to engage anybody who is interested in listening. In April there is the first ever school exchange between the Maldives and the UK- all to raise the issues facing the whale sharks of the Maldives and the wider community. Tommorow we’re taking a class of students from the local island, Dhangethi, out to swim with some whale sharks. Should be ‘interesting’ (what could possibly go wrong?).
Time to practice some time filling games I guess. And I should probably prepare myself for a few more questions….
My First Whale Shark!
“There….. go,go,go”. I didn’t even have to think about it. I took a deep breath and jumped. Read the rest of this entry »
Mantas, coconuts and atolls.
Coconuts, my grandma informed me just before I left, are the number one threat in the Maldives.
Welcome to the Maldives! Gearing Up For Leaving
OK.. so here goes nothing- 3 days left in the country and then its off to the land of a thousand (ish) islands.
(note- number of islands may not be any where near a thousand) Read the rest of this entry »
