Enforcement of MPAs

In response to my cousin Benny’s questions…my last post could use a little more background information.  Here is how enforcement of the MPA works.

Most people guarding the sanctuary are normal community members; I would say that usually they do not carry weapons unless they are authorized to do so as a deputized Fish Warden and issued one.  If you are guarding and catch a violator, you have options.  As I saw a few times, the women pulled out whistles and yelled at violators who were walking the tide flat and searching for creatures to eat.  These are considered warnings and are often undocumented.

If you catch someone fishing in the MPA and you are not a deputized Fish Warden (Bantay dagat) then you can not arrest them.  You have to contact the police; they have to come directly to the site or get some bantay dagat together in a boat and cruise to the site.  The bantay dagat do not receive many benefits; one of the things that diver’s users fees can go towards is ensuring that a bantay dagat’s family will receive money if he/she dies while on duty.

These are their outfits; only Belyn on the left is a deputized fish warden, the other women are wearing their husband’s gear.

And here’s how it played out in one story Belyn told me:

She and her husband were on patrol one night, probably shining the flashing around the area like usual, when they caught an illegal fisherman.  When they approached him, he dropped his net and ran.  She ran the half mile or so to the police station, but by the time they came back, the man had returned to take his net and disappeared.  Even though she can identify the violator, she can not do anything about it other than write it down in the police logbook.

One of the big challenges is the intrusion of commercial fishing boats within what is legally declared the property of the local government (15 km from the coast).  The boats can come from anywhere in the Philippines, or even Malaysia or China, and what is the local government to do? They are no match against the guns and political power of commercial fishing fleets.

B

Fighting over fish

This is an excerpt from a group interview with the fishermen who guard their MPA in Caticugan, Siquijor.

Me: Has there been conflict about the sanctuary?

Fisher 1: Hard headed fishermen. That is the conflict.

Fisher 2: Mountain minded fishermen.

Fisher 1: Because some of the hard headed fishermen shot our president and …

Me: Sorry?

Fisher 2: They had a triple 7 gun.

Me: They shot at you?

Fisher 2: Yeah.

Me: Were you guarding or were you…?

Fisher 2: Roaming the road, (I was) walking the road and got shot by those boys.

 And then he describes how he was shot four times in the leg and shows me the scars.

Me: (Were they) fishermen from this community?

Fisher 1: Illegal fishers.

Me: What kind of illegal fishing do they do?

Fisher 1: (They use) triple nets and trammel nets.

Me: Is it dangerous to be a part of the sanctuary?

Fisher 1: Yeah. (It is) dangerous. I am scared but I still watch the marine sanctuary… I believe in God so there is no danger.

These men are husbands, fathers, and children.  They volunteer to guard the local coral reef for 24 hour shifts once a week.  They hope that there will be enough fish someday that their children will be able to earn more than $2 a day.  Hats off to you, guys.  I know few men so brave.

Coastal cleanup

One of the activities I observed during my time in the Philippines was a coastal cleanup.  Turns out that the Philippines had the 2nd highest attendance for International Coastal Cleanup last year, at over 100,000 volunteers! (Thanks rachelaronson.net for noticing that) That’s really incredible, considering the 3rd highest attendance (Canada) was at most 35,ooo volunteers. I think CCEF’s (www.coast.ph) work might have something to do with that- coastal cleanups are one of the activities they really engage people in and encourage them to do frequently.

Just a few weeks ago, on a hot Sunday afternoon, most of the 60 individuals that help manage the marine sanctuary in Maite, Siquijor, were in attendance for their monthly meeting.  As I showed you previously, the recent storms had left a bunch of debris on the beach.  Most of it is from trees, and a little bit of it is plastic and fishing nets and glass bottles.  The group cleans the beach monthly during tourist season, but the president, Evelyn, decided that the beach was “too dirty” and called an impromptu cleanup.  Evelyn told me that they would bury the natural debris instead of burning it.  Though burning garbage (even compostable things) is a common practice here, she is concerned about the hole in the ozone layer and does not want to contribute to that.

First step: dig the hole with anything you can find

2nd: pick out the plastic and push the natural debris in the hole

3rd: cover the hole with sand

I also have to admit that the resourcefulness of the people has no limits! This woman has collected coconut husks from the debris piles on the beach and is chopping them into quarters- they can be sold for 2 pesos/kilo to a processor who turns them into charcoal.  Though it’s not a lot of money, at 11 cents a pound, the coconut husks are free and plentiful.

Debris into dollars

If fishermen can take the time to clean up their beaches, maybe we should too.

B

Here are the stats on International Coastal Cleanup Day:

http://www.oceanconservancy.org/our-work/marine-debris/2012-data-release.html

Golden ticket

The thing about living in developing nations is that you have to Novocain your heart enough to get through it.   When you stand on the beach at 7 a.m. and ask to see what the fishermen caught as they haul their boats in… it is undeniably tragic when they say “wa la”.  Nothing.  Sometimes they are out there for 6 hours with a big net, and they don’t catch a single thing.

One day, a man showed me his catch held in a plastic grocery bag: a butterfly fish and two wrasse- each no longer than 5 inches.   If you have ever seen these fish in a saltwater aquarium tank, you can easily acknowledge that this is not enough protein for one man for the day.  And it is definitely not enough for his whole family.  That is why he must sell it at 60 pesos/kilo ( or $.70/lb) to buy rice, because I don’t think he can afford canned sardines today.

In the Philippines, it is a shameful thing to be a bad fisherman.  Even though the lack of fish in the surrounding seas is not his fault, he is not proud of his catch, and it is obvious by his lack of eye contact and shuffling feet.  Though I would have loved to show you a photo of a catch like this, I find myself unable to pull my camera out of my pocket.  I usually smile and say something like this-“That is beautiful fish.  Thanks for showing me. Have a nice day.”

But what I really want to say is that I am sorry.  I am always well fed and I don’t worry about my inability to feed a family. And at the end of the day, I have my golden ticket out of there.  My passport grants me opportunities far beyond his reach, but it’s also a golden ticket of guilt.   I am so fortunate, and I am so sorry.

My work is not all that difficult, but it has been near impossible for me to write a word for the last two weeks.  I’m back home, but not done here yet, so stay tuned.  The Novocain has worn off.

B

While washing

Tomorrow my two week vacation begins. It’s been a long and tiring 8 weeks- usually by dinner I am so exhausted from writing notes and asking questions and listening all day long I have to collapse. Some days after transcribing interviews my right arm blocks up and I can’t type anymore.

Last night was my last night in Maite, and it was a perfect one. The weather was calm, the water flat enough for a sunset snorkel in the sanctuary. A quiet dinner after a raucous fiesta with Evelyn (the president of the association managing the sanctuary) and her husband Susano, my hosts for the last month. It was bittersweet.

Truth be told, I have had a hard time getting perspective on this all some days. I have been so wrapped up in the daily life- wake up at 3 am to the rooster’s cock-a-doodling competition, put in ear plugs and roll over, wake up ‘late’- at 6:30 everyone else seems to have been up for an hour or two. They have already bathed for the day and begun their work.

I have a coffee and breakfast. Maybe write some notes that had percolated while I was sleeping. I sit on a small stool next to the fire with Evelyn as she makes yet another treat, or continues the one she was working on until midnight the previous day. Wiping the dripping sweat from her forehead, she stirs a pot of rice and coconut milk to make a treat to sell at the local school. As the morning progresses, the other women she employs bustle about around her, and she hops from one task to the next all morning long. Cooking, cleaning, making business transactions, making phone calls, receiving visitors.

Back in the yard in the afternoon, we sit on the stools. The wash tubs are full of dirty laundry. Evelyn bleaches the whites and soaps the rest. She alternates dunking them in the soapy water and rubbing them between her hands. No wash board here, just a stiff bristled brush if you need it. And here is where she tells me stories. Here is where I learn about her life.

My eyes follow where she dumps the water underfoot on the concrete to where the drainage ditch around her house goes. It empties right under the sanctuary guardhouse, and the soapy water is dribbling from a bright orange pipe. The words are turning over in my head- I’ve spent more time inside the English speaking school systems than out, so it is a challenge sometimes to communicate complex ideas with non-native speakers. I have to think it through. Evelyn has a degree in aquaculture, and is intensely observant about the world around her. But can I have this conversation without being offensive? Without being judgmental? How do I find out what she knows and then communicate what I know?

“Do you have biodegradable soaps here?” I ask.
She looks up at me from her washing and her hands stop. “What?”
“Biodegradable soap… or washing powder. Are those available here?”
“Biodegradable- I do not know what is that.” She begins washing again as she listens.
“Um… because most soaps are chemicals.” (How do I find the easiest words for this?) And they don’t… um, they could damage the corals because they are not natural. Biodegradable soaps are made from… natural things so they do not hurt the marine animals.”
“No, we do not have.” Her face scrunches up a bit in a look of dissatisfaction. She lives on a small island that doesn’t have a proper supermarket.
“Oh. I was just wondering.”
“Maybe- they are expensive?”
“Yeah. Maybe.”

And that’s where it ends sometimes. Another note for the notebook- lack of education about how to conserve the environment and lack of access to biodegradable products can degrade the very reef the community depends on. The reef starts here at just the edge of low tide.  The entire community here is dependent on fishing as their primary source of protein, and the other primary source of livelihood is farming. Even though this is the island’s biggest spot for tourism, it’s not enough to employ everyone. So, what to do? For now, it’s just another concern to go on the list. For the future, it’s something that will float in the back of my mind when I approve a project proposal or run a workshop… or wherever life takes me. It’s one more piece of the puzzle.

B

Simple Housewives

I’ve realized that the blog is an absolutely perfect forum for me to think over the things I am learning and try to fit them into the bigger picture.  To follow up with my last post, let’s take men’s opinions of women out of the picture.

Why would I do that? Basically, because I don’t see a quick answer to that concern.  What I’ve learned here is that people have, what my friend Daladier calls a “wait and see” attitude.  That means you can propose a sanctuary, invite everyone in town to a public hearing, pass an ordinance, put up the buoy lines to rope it off, and post a huge sign. And still, 3 years later, the neighbors might be wandering through at low tide trying to take shells home for dinner.

A month ago, I actually thought that a solution to violations might be education of the value of sanctuaries- maybe people just needed to be convinced that the sanctuary would increase fish stocks and other sea creatures and that would make them want to leave it alone.  In fact, it seems to work almost opposite.  The reefs here are blessed  with a great ‘rebound rate’. Even after just six months of protection, sometimes locals are catching more fish in the area.  They feel like the scientists maybe pulled the wool over their eyes and stole the best fishing grounds, and now they really want the wealth of fish and urchins inside the sanctuary.  So much that they might risk a 6 month imprisonment and a $60 fine (which is a lot more than the cost of dinner).

One sanctuary sign warning the public about the rules

Considering this “wait and see” attitude… I wonder if instead of trying to change men’s opinions of women, maybe it would be easier to change women’s opinions of themselves.

I have been exploring what women think about the ocean.  Women also consider fishing a men’s activity, and following this logic, most consider fisheries management a man’s activity.  Just like if someone’s car was broken, I would say “let’s call somebody who can fix it”- I would never in my right mind pop the hood and say “let me have a look”.  So in a way, it makes perfect sense that men should manage fisheries because many women here don’t fish, can’t swim, can’t drive a motor boat, and are afraid of the sea.

I have also been listening to what women think about themselves.  This is what they say to me: “I am just a simple housewife…and sometimes I help my husband”.

I just seal my lips, swallow, and give a small acknowledging nod. As a researcher, I have to listen to what they are saying, when what I really want to say is this:

You run a small business out of your kitchen.

You are creative in a way I can only dream of with only an open fire to cook over.

You comfort and care for everyone that walks through your door.

You maintain good community relations by always welcoming visitors in and talking to them.

You give up a lot of sleep cooking for your business until 12, and then up again at 5 am to feed your child.

You teach your children to pick up their garbage and do their homework.

You effectively turn garbage into money by taking any extras you have and turning them into a sellable item.

When your husband is called to a meeting, you go in his place.

You stand up for yourself at meetings.

When you are called to a workshop, you listen attentively (even as the men are making loud jokes and talking over the speaker).

You are a guardian of our ocean – regardless of anyone who thinks you can’t or shouldn’t. So keep doing it. You are definitely not “just a simple housewife”. You are much more valuable than you know. Maybe if more women knew their true worth they would be empowered to stop all the destructive fishing here… let’s just make sure they don’t call it the Simple Housewives Association.

B

 

Becoming Butterflies

I guess one of the most surprising results I have had here are learning about people’s perceptions of women.  I have asked many people over the past two months, formally (in interviews) but also informally, “how are women involved in coastal resource management?”  Most of these people are aware what coastal resource management (CRM) means in the Philippines, but I’ll just brief that for my readers:

CRM includes a variety of activities, like making fisheries policies, replanting mangrove forests, or establishing sanctuaries.  These activities are led by the local government and NGOs staff, and often funded by foreign aid (especially major players like USAID, GIZ).  Whereas in Seattle, I would expect the government agencies to do all of these activities on their own, here in the Philippines, everybody is involved, and the reality is that they have to be.  The government is limited in its capacity, and that is why they pull in every citizen to help with CRM.   So when we say “CRM” here, that can include the high school students who plant mangroves, the fish wardens out patrolling the waters, and especially sanctuaries.  With sanctuaries, many members of the community have to come together and voluntarily work to maintain the sanctuary and protect it from intruders who might want to plunder its bounty.

There are 16 sanctuaries on Siquijor right now and over 1,000 in the Philippines.  So I guessed in asking so many people their opinions on “how are women involved?” that I could try and get a clear picture.  But it started out really foggy; all I could uncover was anecdotes; that women show up to sanctuary meetings if their husbands are out fishing, that women join their husband in the guardhouse, that they cook for everybody during CRM activities.  A lovely friend and colleague here even said “Barbie, I don’t know! What is women in CRM? I haven’t even thought about it!”

So then on Siquijor I asked people the same question. Two young female government employees who work closely with CRM projects gave me these insights; they have witnessed women:

-do the most of the work in any seaweed farming project

-participate in mangrove replanting

-act as secretaries and maintain good documentation of projects

-handle money and sell products of projects (fish, seaweed, etc.)

-take initiative in projects

-delegate tasks

-are detail oriented

-participate in decision making

-voice their opinions at meetings

-increase understanding among group members

-keep projects organized better

Unfortunately, while these young women have their eyes open, the truth is that we are all up against the barrier of discrimination and what people expect of us.

“it’s very impossible for women to guard (the sanctuary) day and night… if there are intrusions of illegal fishers its very risky for the women to react on the illegal fishers in the marine sanctuary during nighttime… with their forces combined of the illegal fishers, what can the women do against the men? It’s very hard for women because we are weaker than men so when we’re in trouble, we’ll be put in deep sea (drowned)” (female government staff)

me: “What would be the benefit of including women?”

Men: “it would be clean here… and they could cook for us. And if our wives were involved… we would (have sex in the guardhouse while guarding the sanctuary at night)”.

And that’s all.  The men couldn’t think of any other benefit.

It reminds me of a child I knew who put a caterpillar in a jar because she didn’t know it would become a butterfly…

B