T.RES Worldwide initiatives

Under the auspices of Naucrates, the Italian organization that deals with environmental education project in southern Thailand.

The aim is to focus activities in three main areas: scientific research, education, and the promotion of eco-sustainable and eco-efficient tourism as an alternative to mass tourism.  Naucrates runs Conservation Projects on the small island of Phra Thong.  These projects involve raising awareness about and safeguarding sea turtles, the mangrove forest and the coral reef; they have been approved and recognised by the Thai National Research Council and are carried out in conjunction with the Phuket Marine Biology Centre and the Ranong Coastal Resources Research Station.

We always call upon local communities to take an interest and/or participate in some way in our projects or other types of initiative.  In particular, we dedicate special attention to children and schools as part of our environmental education programme.   The Naucrates team also offers training in on-site working techniques to local and foreign students. 

www.naucrates.org   

 

December 2009 Update 

Naucrates and the turtles of Phra Thong

The main activity of the Naucrates Association, as envisaged by its statute, consists of planning and scheduling any type of intervention for the purposes of disseminating scientific or similar information concerning the environment and nature in general. There is a particular focus on the sea and those environments closely linked to it, with the intention of contributing to knowledge and conservation of these special habitats – now and for the generations to come.
Naucrates runs conservation projects on the small island of Phra Thong. These projects involve raising awareness about and safeguarding sea turtles, the mangrove forest and the coral reef. In January 2008 a project was put in place with the aim of involving the local population of a village on the island. The concept of how to recycle organic substances for compost (collection of everyday organic waste) was introduced together with the development of a home-stay programme and associated tourism – Community-based tourism - and environmental education programmes concerning the preservation of the mangrove forest (an environment to which they are closely linked). The projects were approved and recognised by the Thai National Research Council and are carried out in conjunction with the Phuket Marine Biological Centre.
We always call upon local communities to take an interest and/or participate in some way in our projects or other types of initiative. In particular, we dedicate special attention to children and schools as part of our environmental education programme. The Naucrates team also offers training in on-site working techniques to local and foreign students.
Update - December 2009
This year too, the Naucrates team, researchers and volunteers are all preparing for a new season of work in Thailand, from January to April 2010: field activities designed to collect data and also to involve the local population in our experience.
During this year, the Naucrates association, in conjunction with the Mangrove Action Project (MAP) has been successful in employing, in the village, a Thai person to act as reference for the Association’s projects. This person, as well as guaranteeing the continuity of our work has also been working with locals to pursue and maintain commitments made by management and figures of reference with regard to improving general conditions on the site (village) as well as taking care of dwellings.
Surprisingly, the turtles’ nesting season got underway extremely early, in October 2009. Naucrates therefore had to send in a volunteer immediately as well as to employ a local person to ensure the safety of the eggs.
On 12 December, the first 124 baby turtles emerged from the sand and headed for the Andaman Sea. Unfortunately, in spite of our intensive beach monitoring activities, we must report episodes of nests poached by fishermen (we do not think are locally based, however).

The Naucrates team will continue to carry out environmental education programmes for children as well as offering English lessons, not only to children this time, but to all those who wish to learn this language.
There are different activities ongoing at the environmental education centre in the village. The centre has an area used as a natural history museum with annexed reading room and an office where field interventions are planned.
The team offers guided visits to tourists coming to the village as well as proposing the opportunity to monitor beaches in search of new turtle tracks, under the guidance of our volunteers.
The mangrove-related projects are producing excellent results. In fact, in the area where tree species destroyed in the tsunami of 2004 are being gradually reintroduced, the signs are encouraging. Monitoring and replanting activities, carried out twice a year in January and July, mean we can state that the environment, which was so harshly affected by the tidal wave, is slowly getting back the characteristics that allowed the native plants of this specific community to survive.
The coral reef, which is located in a small bay on the west coast of the island has also had its interventions, consisting above all in the removal of pieces of fishing net entangled around the coral and other tools used by fishermen. A photo survey was also carried out to check the “health” conditions of those parts seriously damaged by the tsunami.

 

January 2009 Update

Ready to start a new season in Thailand
The beginning of the 2009 season is imminent.
Naucrates team will start working on the field in Thailand from 10th January 2009 until 4th April 2009.
Naucrates staff and volunteers will actively work towards the preservation of the local nature, focusing on sea turtle monitoring and
protection likewise mangrove restoration. In addition, the local community will be involved and actively part of the team.
At Lion Village, Naucrates will be working in the environmental education centre that was set up in 2008.
Naucrates collaborates with Mangrove Action Project, developing programme that focus on mangrove rehabilitation, education and conservation on the island.
The Naucrates team will focus on several activities during the season:
Sea turtle monitoring: sea turtles usually nest on the island in January and February, with their eggs hatching in March. All beaches will be monitored on a daily basis in order to find and protect all the nests. Nests will be protected until hatching.
Mangrove Rehabilitation will include planting seedlings, making signs, education, transect, etc.
Community natural resource conservation and management: introduce environmental friendly practices to improve the living conditions of the Lion Village Community Strengthening of local community capacity to implement conservation programs; increase scientific knowledge on the biology and conservation of marine turtles surrounding Koh Phra Thong and involve local communities in the conservation of
these endangered species by protecting their habitats (nesting beach and feeding grounds at sea); increase the awareness of mangrove forest ecology and conservation; establish a positive-sustainable relationship between ecotourism, conservation and community economic development
Environmental education: English lessons and environmental education in the local school. Aims of the programme will include: utilizing environmental friendly practices in the village, i.e. planting trees, producing compost, saving water, litter collection etc.; use of environmental games that educate the young generation.
Tourist awareness: guests and visitors of the island often visit the project and information sessions will be hosted by the team.
Home-stay in the village: volunteers will stay in villager’s houses encouraging them to develop a home-stay programme in the future and during the year. Volunteers will help us by bringing their skills and knowledge with a small economical contribution to cover some expenses of the project. The team brings life and innovation to the local community encouraging them to understand that the development of ecotourism programmes could be a precious alternative and source of income for their future.

 

 

January 2008 Update
The Naucrates group's eleventh monitoring season got under way in early January with great success: 3 Olive Ridley and 3 Green Turtle nests were discovered and no one has seen such a high number for years!
The mangrove project is continuing, as is the environmental education programme at the village schools.

April 2007 Update
On the 29th March we had 53 hatchlings emerging form the Olive Ridley nest on Phra Thong island. They were all released safely into the ocean by Naucrates Team. Few days before this emotional event, leatherback hatchlings were found on Ko Ra ....26 of them went safely into the ocean!

Fishermen project
In Tapayoi village we have completed 21 questionnaires. We had a range of communities (Burmese, moklen and Thai). Many records of dead ones as well, they told us that they were killed and opened. People told us that the big trawlers are responsible for that and that they eat the organs.
There is an environmental committee in the village, not officially, but composed of 5 people dealing with environmental issues. Concerning the turtle, they seem to make sure no turtles nor do eggs enter the village. In Thung Dap village, as expected a lot more interest and enthusiasm. Many of the young fishermen (around 20 years old) have all grown up listening to Khun Carole's lessons (Naucrates environmental education programme). They are looking forward to help. We have made an agreement with one of them who has a tractor to monitor the beach from Km 10 to Km 5 (the southern end).

Local school
Environmental education activities in Tapayoi: Team Naucrates had worked with two different groups of kid (age 7-12years) and took them out to mangrove in different times according to the tide.

A drawing competition was organised together with Ning, Mangrove Action Project. Drawings on mangroves were collected and they will participate to a world wide competition. The 12 best drawings will be published on the next years MAP calendar.Once again. it was a good opportunity to develop a conservation programme in the school.

Volunteers
Naucrates had to close bookings for the season in February 06. Due to logistic problems at GBB resort, for the first time we had to close the bookings. Naucrates hope to solve the problem of volunteer logistic very soon, before the coming season 2008. Naucrates need volunteer to continue the project.

February 2007 Update
Here we are ....working hard again on Phra Thong island. A team leaded by Alessandra and Pipap is monitoring the beaches of the island, conducting some behavioural studies and intervieing fishermen.

It is with a great pleasure that I announce the recent findings of three new nests. Yesterday a green turtle nest was found on the second beach of ko Ra (going from South to North), today an olive ridley nest was discovered at Ko Phra Thong and a leatherback nest was found on the first beach of Ko Ra.

The olive ridley nest, which consists in 78 eggs, was safely moved to a new location near GBB resort in order to be checked and protected by the team.It will hatch at the end of March. The weather is quite unusual on the island, infact it is not very hot and the sea water temperature is not as high as usual at this time of the year.

Pipap, together with Ning and Sharna (our collaborator from MAP organization) are staying at Tapayoi village. They are conducting interviews to local fishermen in order to estimate the impact of artisanal fisheries on turtles. In few days, they have managed to interview about 20 people in the village. Pipap will go on board with some of them, to check and investigate on their fishing methodology in order then to suggest any conservation measures that could decrease the ammount of turtles incidentally caught by them.

October 2006 UpdateOn 26 December 2004, the arrival of an abnormal series of waves (tsunami) in many regions of the globe created strong disturbances in delicate ecosystems as well as killing thousands of people.  As often occurs, this reawakened our awareness of how, when faced with natural forces whose power is incalculable and which devastate delicate equilibriums (in every sense), mankind is really quite insignificant.

Having said that, it is however wonderful to see how the communities, in spite of the sheer extent of their devastation, are working to restore suitable conditions for both plant and animal life to be able to continue.  And it is this that the researchers from the Naucrates association are studying in a mangrove forest that was devastated by the tsunami on the island of Phra Thong (Thailand).  The elements "at work" are the same as those that every so often wreak havoc on the coasts of many countries (sea, wind, rain, sediment, etc.); all that changes is the power with which these natural phenomena occur!

To accomplish its task, the Association, which has been involved in nature conservation programmes for years, forces itself to observe its natural surroundings, to get to know them and to live closely with the biological communities where all beings mutually relate to the physical environment in which they evolve.  The experience of the tsunami has further ingrained in us the idea of just how rigid, countless, complex and difficult to disassociate the laws that govern the functions of ecosystems really are.....so much so that it is impossible to analyse them separately.  In the same way, it is impossible not to thank all those who, in one way or another, support us and encourage us to continue with our work, even if the difficulties are many and the sacrifices needed to continue commitments of this size are countless.

Naucrates will be resuming its field work in Thailand in January 2007, with a team of volunteers and researchers to continue their conservation activities for sea turtles, the coral reef and a mangrove community.

For more information, please write to: naucrates12@tiscalinet.it

Claudio Conti, Head of the mangrove project.