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About us > Expedition Partners
Operation Wallacea works by forming long-term relationships with in-country NGOs that then run the logisitics for the research programmes. In some cases competent NGOs already exist but in other cases Operation Wallacea has had to directly manage sites for a few years and has then handed over the equipment and facilities to newly created NGOs that have been formed entirely from in-country local staff who have enthusiastically supported the research programmes. This approach has the benefit of maximising the value of the financial spend to local communities and ensures the programmes have widespread support amongst local communities.
Honduras Expediciones y Servicios Ambientales de Cusuco (ESAC) When the Operation Wallacea teams first started working in the Cusuco National Park there were no existing Honduran NGOs that had the competence to run the logistics for a major biodiversity survey across the cloud forest. Therefore Operation Wallacea directly managed the logistics for the expeditions and recruited a number of local people to run different aspects. In 2007 a group of local staff formed ESAC to manage the Operation Wallacea projects on a sub-contract basis. ESAC is headed by Roberto Downing (the newly appointed Park manager), Marcial Erazo (the ex-Park Manager) and Alex Vallejo (newly appointed as the Honduran Forestry Agency representative for the Cusuco Park). The facilities developed by Operation Wallacea and all the equipment has now been handed over to ESAC and they are responsible for increasing wildlife tourist visitor numbers (and hence income) to the Park outside the Opwall season by offering short courses such as jungle training, providing facilities for visiting university training courses and running birding and trekking weekends. In addition ESAC is running the coffee purchasing for the Wildlife Conservation Products scheme where enhanced prices are offered to village co-operatives for products in exchange for the village agreeing to no logging, hunting or encroachment of the forest/farm boundaries.
Honduran Coral Reef Fund (HCRF) The Honduran Coral Reef Fund is the organisation that is responsible for the management of the Cayos Cochinos island Marine Protected Area. HCRF which is a registered Honduran NGO was formed in 1993 and is headed by Adrian Oviedo. HCRF have a year round presence in the Cayos Cochinos Islands and a permanent staff at offices in La Ceiba. HCRF have steered the Cayos Cochinos Islands Marine Protected Area legalisation process through all the stages in the Honduran legal system and have produced the only fully legal MPA in Honduras. They are one of the most successful NGOs in Central America and have succeeded, where nearly all others have failed, in becoming entirely self funded. Income for HCRF comes from an entrance charge to the MPA, renting out the islands for filming the Survivor series for Spanish, Italian and Colombian TV and income from the research programmes run by Operation Wallacea. They have an effective enforcement team and with input from Opwall have developed a long-term research programme for the boa populations and status of the reefs. HCRF have just had the second management plan for the Cayos Cochinos MPA approved after extensive consultation with key stakeholders and local communities. Much of their work at the moment is helping (in conjunction with other NGOs) local communities to develop income streams from the Cayos Cochinos MPA. The main threats to the islands are over-fishing outside the protected area by the industrial fleet and watershed degradation generating sediments that are effecting the coral reef at Cayos Cochinos. Watershed management and environmental education are also targets for future work by HCRF.
Grupo de Apoyo al Desarollo (GAD) When the Cayos Cochinos MPA was declared and the Garifuna fishers living on the northern Honduran coast that used to fish those waters were prevented from making their living from those waters, promises were made about provision of alternative income streams. Whilst HCRF has done much to help with this development, there was a need for a full time NGO dedicated to helping businesses develop in these communities stretching from Sambo Creek to Rio Esteban. GAD was formed by Tony Ives an ex-Peace Corps volunteer and Adonis Cubas from HCRF in 2006. Opwall has helped this organisation by ensuring that all visitors to the Cayos Cochinos Islands enter through one of these coastal communities. At first Nueva Armenia was used as the gateway to the Park but now Rio Esteban is also being used. Volunteers stay overnight in the communities (and get a great welcome), have dinner and are transported across using local boats. This puts significant funds into the communities and a dive centre is now being built in Rio Esteban so that some initial training of Opwall students can be done in the communities to again increase their income and to provide a great experience for the students. GAD is developing the dive centre and has also developed other small businesses amongst the communities such as restaurants on Chachuate and East end in Garifuna communities living on the Cayos Cochinos Islands. A university scholarship scheme has also been developed by GAD with support from Opwall.
Coral View Marine Research Center Coral View Marine Research Center on Utila is being developed with one of the original Utilian families who own and run a family hotel with shore access to some of the best reefs and the most extensive mangrove systems on the island. The Fernandez family are well known and liked on Utila and have been involved in reef conservation since the diving industry first arrived on the island. CJ Fernandez has built an extensive laboratory in the custom built research and dive centre and it is from here that students can be involved in a range of projects from reef diving to mangrove biology to water quality assessments. You always get a warm welcome from Miss Tonya at Coral View. The Coral View research centre is utilising the facilities and equipment to offer university marine biology training courses as well as training in reef ecology to visitors to Utila outside the Opwall season.
Egypt The Nature & Science Foundation The Nature & Science Foundation is a new Egyptian NGO formed in 2007 by Dr Samy Zalat, Dr Somia El-Akkad and Dr Francis Gilbert. One of its aims is to involve Egyptian university and high school students in biodiversity surveys in Egypt. The objective is to mirror the work done by Operation Wallacea in attracting overseas students to join these biodiversity surveys and to open up the possibilities for young Egyptians to contribute to surveys of their natural heritage. This organization is the NGO that runs the logistics for the Opwall surveys. Opwall is giving on-going assistance to the Nature & Science Foundation to help them develop their Egyptian volunteer recruitment programme. The Nature &Science Foundation is also continuing the work of BioMap which was funded by the Italian Government to collated all records from museums, specialist collections, publications, naturalists records and academic theses on higher plants, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibian and mammal species records from throughout Egypt in each of these taxa. These data have been entered into a national biodiversity database and are being used by NSF to produce species distribution atlases and to identify changes to species ranges.
South Sinai Community Foundation The South Sinai Foundation was formed in 2007 by Hilary and Francis Gilbert, Samy Zalat, Somia El-Akkad and Farag Fox. This NGO is trying to build an endowed fund to help support development and cultural initiatives for the seven Bedouin tribes of South Sinai, and is keen to support, promote and in some cases revive traditional Bedouin practices in conserving their environment. The Foundation is currently researching the opportunities for dried apricots and almonds produced by communities who have agreed conservation contracts to be marketed under the Wildlife Conservation Products scheme.
South Africa and Mozambique Wildlife and Ecological Investments (WEI) Wildlife and Ecological Investments (WEI) is a not-for-profit organisation formed by Johan Scholtz and other South African staff to manage the Operation Wallacea biodiversity research programmes in South Africa and Mozambique. WEI is based in Somerset West, Capetown and aims to utilise the facilities and equipment generated by the Opwall programme to facilitate research outside the main Opwall season. For example WEI is investing in developing a marine research centre in the Ponta da Ouro area of Mozambique and is establishing a research camp for year-round monitoring of highveld biodiversity in the Welegevonden reserve. WEI has an advisory committee of leading African wildlife biologists that help with decisions on which research projects to support.
Indonesia Wallacea Foundation The Wallacea Foundation was formed in 2006 following an initiative from Professor Sangkot Marzuki, the most famous molecular biologist in Indonesia and Professor Iriwan Yusuf, Dean of the University of Makassar. The reason the Jakarta and Makassar based NGO was formed was to act a single focus for the various biodiversity and conservation management research projects being run in the Wallacea region of Indonesia. The concept is to act as a central location for biodiversity data from the region, a library of reports and to initiate research into information gaps. For example the Foundation has the objective of completing barcoding of all fish species in the Wallacea region over the next few years. The Wallacea Foundation is one of the sponsors for the Operation Wallacea programme in Indonesia and has enabled international collaborative research to be performed in the Wallacea region including access to samples. The Wallacea Foundation Board contains influential business people and politicians such as the previous President of Indonesia (Dr Habibie) and the current Vice-President.
Lawana Ecotone During the first few years of the Operation Wallacea surveys in Indonesia, the research programme was directly managed by Operation Wallacea using local staff wherever possible to organise the logistics. These local staff then went on to form a new NGO called Lawana Ecotone that has been managing the logistics for the Lambusango forest expeditions since 2005. The management of the forest camps and staffing has been superb and the success of this first NGO to be formed from ex Opwall local staff encouraged the spread of the concept of forming similar NGOs at the remaining directly managed Opwall sites. The NGO is headed by La Ode Agus Mentol and Bonny Syafei with others from the village of Labundo. The objective of Lawana Ecotone is to utilise the facilities and equipment created by the Operation Wallacea research programme to promote visits by university groups, wildlife enthusiasts and eco-tourists to the endemic rich Lambusango forests outside the Opwall season.
Lembaga Alam Lembaga Alam is another Indonesian NGO that was based on the Lawana Ecotone model and was established to manage the Opwall marine sites. The NGO is headed by Adrian Dalope, Jufri, Ilu and Asri and from the 2008 season they have been running the logistics for the Opwall marine sites. Their objective is to utilise the facilities and equipment created by the Opwall teams outside the Opwall season to encourage training courses and research tourist visits to the site. A new runway has just opened in Wanci which should improve access to the site and provide year round income for the NGO.
The Wakatobi Marine National Park represents the Regency of the Wakatobi within Southeast Sulawesi and is therefore directly controlled by the Wakatobi Government under the leadership of Pak Ir. Hugua. The Government of the Wakatobi are forward thinking and clearly recognise that the natural resources of the Marine Park are extremely important and represent a unique resource that requires active conservation supported by detailed scientific research. Consequently Operation Wallacea have enjoyed very good relations with government officials and continue to collaborate to ensure that the reefs of the Wakatobi remain protected whilst offering researchers and educators an opportunity to visit, study, appreciate and aid in the conservation of one of the most spectacular coral reef ecosystems on the planet.
Forkani Forkani is an NGO headed by Beloro, which was established in 2005 in response to concerns by local fishermen on Kaledupa Island about the continuing decline of their reef fishery. Forkani have representatives in each of the 22 main villages in Kaledupa and manage the Kaledupa element of the World Bank COREMAP programme for sustainable fisheries in Eastern Indonesia. Forkani are the partners for the Operation Wallacea Trust/Darwin Initiative project in Kaledupa and have been running the catch landings monitoring programme over a 24 hour period once a week in each of the 9 main fishing villages since October 2007. These data have been entered into a database and Forkani are now presenting these summary data at village level consultations to determine the types of local byelaws that could be adopted to help protect the fishery and which would have widespread island support. A Kaledupa Fisheries Forum has also been formed which is chaired by the local Governor and the results of the surveys and consultations with fishers are being used by this Forum to decide on island level fishery management policies.
Losari Tours Losari Tours is run by Acho Suniarsaya in Makassar. This travel company has been organising flights and boat tickets for Operation Wallacea expeditions since 1996 and has been consistently reliable and well organised. The Opwall Indonesia expeditions from 2009 are being managed by Losari Tours, with Lembaga Alam and Lawana Ecotone as the subcontractors for the marine and forest sides respectively. In addition Losari Tours is helping the two SE Sulawesi NGOs to develop eco-tourist visits outside the Opwall season to their respective sites.
Peru AmazonEco was set up as a small local Peruvian company to help manage the logistics of conservation activities and expeditions. AmazonEco strives to help conserve Amazon rainforests by providing support for conservation and research expeditions; assisting teams, students, and professionals attain their research and conservation goals; fulfilling learning experiences and tropical adventures in some of the most remote forests of the Amazon basin. AmazonEco provides boats and logistical support for expeditions and projects to some of the remotest regions in the Peruvian Amazon. Services are provided to NGOs, students, volunteers, universities, schools, and film crews, among others. AmazonEco and their team of researchers and conservationists have been working in the Peruvian Amazon for over 27 years. During this time AmazonEco's team has conducted over 150 conservation and research expeditions with more than 1,000 students, professors, and researchers to remote wilderness areas of the Amazonian rainforest. In 2007, AmazonEco provided support to world leading conservation NGOs, including the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the World Wildlife Fund - Peru (WWF-Peru). Logistical support helped conserve the Lago Preto Conservation Concession, Yavari River, the Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo Community Reserve, and the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, among others. AmazonEco also provided support to student expeditions run by Operation Wallacea (OpWall) and the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE). In 2007 over 120 students participated in expeditions and helped conduct research on a wide range of topics including bat surveys, primate behaviour, frog diversity, fisheries evaluations, caiman populations, giant river otter ecology, among many other topics. In 2007 and 2008 AmazonEco assisted the BBC and Animal Planet in filming red uaraki monkeys at the Lago Preto Conservation Concession, Yavari River.
La fundación para el desarrollo del trópico amazónico (Fundamazonia) FundAmazonia is a locally based NGO in the Peruvian Amazon that was specifically created to help support conservation activities set up in collaboration with Operation Wallacea, The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE). FundAmazonia´s mandate is to support local capacity building for conservation projects, help local communities set up community based wildlife management programmes, assist protected areas in wildlife conservation, and promote conservation oriented research activities. FundAmazonia is playing an important role in both the Lago Preto Conservation Concession on the Yavari River and the Samiria River basin in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. The collaboration that FundAmazonia has with Operation Wallacea is helping implement the Lago Preto and Samiria sites by developing research projects, having local Peruvians gain important conservation capacity building, and developing management alternatives for the sites. In addition, FundAmazonia is involved with a Darwin Initiative project on community based wildlife management that is helping communities in the Greater Yavari set up wildlife certification programmes to help deal with overhunting of bushmeat species. FundAmazonia is also involved with assisting the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve in wildlife management activities, both at the local community level and with the reserve management.
Cuba University of Havana Centre for Marine Research (Centro de Investigaciones de Marinas) The University of Havana is the Opwall partner in Cuba and organises the research programmes on the Isle of Youth. Operation Wallacea, the Coral Reef Research Unity at Essex University and the University of Havana have signed a long-term research collaboration agreement to develop and implement a biodiversity monitoring and conservation management programme for the forests, mangroves and reefs on the southern part of the Isle of Youth. The results of this programme can hopefully be applied elsewhere in Cuba and on Caribbean reefs and will also enable the research facilities on the Isle of Youth and publications in peer-reviewed journals to be built up. 2010 was the first year of this long-term agreement and is concentrating on gathering baseline data on the forests and some aspects of the mangrove as well as continuing the existing marine based surveys run by the University of Havana. Once these initial data have been obtained the programme will be developed to include additional research themes.
Madagascar
Development & Biodiversity Conservation Action for
Madagascar (DBCAM)
Guyana Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development (IIC) IIC is a long-established research programme tasked with the mission of testing novel techniques for rainforest conservation in developing counties. Operation Wallacea's agreement with the IIC is designed to monitor biodiversity across the Iwokrama Forest for inclusion into future development of REDD payments, and payments for other ecosystem services.
Surama Surama Village on the southern border of the Iwokrama Forest are helping Operation Wallacea and the IIC to monitor biodiversity along one of the most remote rivers in the area.
Romania Fundatia ADEPT Fundatia ADEPT is a UK and Romanian registered charity which promotes agricultural development and environmental protection in the Tarnava Mare area of Transylvania in Romania. Their primary objective is the conservation of one of Europe’s last medieval landscapes through appropriate economic regeneration of the farming communities. ADEPT has been working since 2002 with farmers, local communities, universities, other NGOs, and government at all levels in order to solve the range of problems threatening the survival of this remarkable landscape and of the small-scale farming communities living within it. Fundatia ADEPT is carrying out an integrated programme linking economic and social benefits with biodiversity conservation, and raising local capacity for good management in the future. They bring together Romanian and wider European expertise to carry out innovative nature conservation and rural development projects that are firmly rooted in local communities. Their website provides detailed information in English and Romanian, for local people and visitors who are interested in protecting this area, and similar High Nature Value landscapes in Romania and in Europe more widely.
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