My introductory post was entitled “Let’s Sequester Some Carbon!” I am sorry to report that nearly three weeks into my placement, I have yet to personally sequester any carbon. However, I have taken the bus to work every day so far, so I am at least limiting my carbon footprint!
In all seriousness, I can honestly say that my first few weeks at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) have gone largely according to expectations. During my first week, I sat in on stakeholder meetings between TNC staff, state government officials and representatives of other environmental groups. In these meetings, Dr. Rose Graves presented her findings on potential Natural Climate Solution (NCS) pathways in Oregon, demonstrating the carbon sequestration potential of several potential NCS strategies. Participants were invited to provide feedback and recommendations on Dr. Graves’ initial research. These meetings provided an excellent opportunity to watch NGOs and government officials navigate the science-policy interface (more on this later).
It has exactly been 1 month that I started working with the Rainforest Alliance on Accountability framework, in this period, I learnt a lot about the deforestation commitments of the companies whose supply chains affect the forests in South-East Asia and South America. I am helping the team in the initial phase of uptake of the guidelines by the companies, providing them a practical roadmap to achieving their commitments.
Now that I’ve had 3 1/2 weeks behind me, I finally feel like I’m making some real progress and can see my deliverables coming together. The first two weeks were definitely challenging and I initially had some doubts in my abilities to successfully and meaningfully create maps about the elk reintroduction project. But I was able to problem solve and now look forward to sharing with you what I have done so far and what is still coming.
Not too little. Not too much. Just right. Lagom. The Swedish way of life which includes a healthy work-life balance and a more simplistic way of living is often accredited to the Lagom philosophy. It is this balanced way of life that allows for many Swedes to enjoy long summer holidays, leaving their work behind until the autumn returns.
… or in this case, it takes four to keep an island debris free.
Sàwàtdee-kâ! (Hello!)
My first ten days on Koh Yao Yai have been an interesting blend of hazy recuperation mixed with a flurry of activity. When I arrived at Klong Hia pier, I met the stationed field officer, Salisa, who has been invaluable in helping me adjust to not only living on an island but also in a new culture.
Over the last few months, I have been working with both the
superintendent and assistant superintendent of Blackhawk Country Club’s golf
course to coordinate their BioBlitz, an event held by golf courses nation-wide
through Audubon Internationals Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf. When the
idea of assisting in the planning of this event was first suggested to me by
the CEO of Audubon International, I was hesitant. I had never planned a species
focused event – or any outdoor event for that matter – and I wasn’t sure about
the time commitment required through the months of April and May when I had
anticipated focusing solely on end-of-semester asignments and papers. I pondered
the idea and my own excuses briefly before becoming aware of what a rare and
SPOT ON opportunity this was for me to combine my interests in public outreach,
golf, and wildlife.
The first three weeks of my placement have been packed full of meetings, workshops, and brainstorming sessions. Landscape Conservation Design is collaborative by definition, and the logistics of coordinating the ideas, resources, and voices of the various partners takes energy and organization. Since I last wrote, I’ve made significant progress on understanding where my contributions can make the greatest impact in this short summer, as well as begun initial steps towards reaching those goals. I’ll do my best here to explain what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, and where I’ll take things from here.
The second day I came to CI, the director of Knowledge Management, who is my host supervisor, shared a fresh article with me. The heading was “Areas in the Amazon that were supposed to have zero deforestation lost 6 São Paulo cities in 3 decades” (Dantas). The news knocked me down right in the morning. It is sad to think that this big loss happened inside protected areas (PAs) and outside PAs was worse. Not only this, but the atmosphere around environmental issues is very delicate in Brazil. Our protected areas, environmental laws, environmental agencies, and the indigenous rights are all being threatened by the current politics led by the far-right president Bolsonaro. Hence, it is hard to keep motivated in the middle of a lot of bad news.
I started
my placement late March with a light schedule because I was finishing my Spring
semester at the same time. The idea was to help CLA to get some documents ready
for the summer and start working full time during June and July. My first tasks
were to update the Citizen Monitoring Manual, create agendas for each Volunteer
Days scheduled during the summer, and enter the date of these events in CLA’s
Google Calendar. Administrative tasks are time consuming but necessary steps for
the coordination of the team and the volunteers.
I always thought the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was bubbling with pristine water to be able to reflect its surroundings so beautifully. Then, a few years ago when D.C. overnight shipped ducks from a massive die off in the pool via private jet to Madison’s USGS, I started to question this belief of mine. Seeing the pool in person, I now thoroughly understand the context. This story parallel’s well with my wide-eyed view that conservation organizations have it all figured out. Although still in amazement with the work of CI, with more information, I am now able to identify potential flaws and areas for improvement.
The Nelson Institute: Environmental Conservation Leadership Projects 