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Azhariah Kamin
The Star 14 Oct 13;
A group of dedicated young volunteers is protecting the hawksbill as best as they can, and this augurs well for the future of the reptile.
THEY come from different backgrounds, yet they have something in common: the desire to learn more about turtle conservation and protecting the environment.
One thing they admitted, though, was that before joining as volunteers at the Hawksbill Eco-Club, they knew little about turtle conservation. After they became part of the club, they learnt a whole lot more, and in the process, have fallen in love with their job.
Living along the coastline wasn’t something new for them. “Most of us were born and grew up here, so we already knew about turtles and marine life. However, it was only after we joined the club that we began learning much more,” said club chairman Nor Amri Zul, 26, in an interview with Star2 at the sanctuary earlier this year.
For the uninitiated, the Hawksbill Eco-Club was set up by a group of 12 youngsters (as full-time volunteers) who help man the Padang Kemunting Sea Turtle Sanctuary on a daily basis to create awareness and educate the public – particularly fishermen, chalet operators, schoolchildren and villagers– on the importance of protecting hawksbill turtles.
The Hawksbill Eco-Club is located at the Padang Kemunting Hawksbill Turtle Conservation and Information Centre in Pengkalan Balak, Masjid Tanah, Malacca.
Since the club’s inception in November 2011, its members have been busy with their daily routines at the centre and undergoing occasional training by WWF, assisted by the Fisheries Department, to equip them with all the necessary skills to become full-fledged, licensed eco-tourism guides. Indeed, one of the club’s aims is to empower the local community to benefit from local eco-tourism.
According to Nor Amri, one of the main activities of the club is assisting the sanctuary through its patrolling teams. During the peak nesting season from April to September, teams – comprising WWF-Malaysia’s staff members, assistants, interns and volunteers – monitor key nesting beaches from sunset to sunrise, sometimes covering distances of almost 40km. Amri himself joins in the patrolling every day.
“Our main aims are to stop poachers from stealing freshly laid eggs, and to transfer these new eggs into a protected hatchery, with the help of the Fisheries Department and licensed egg collectors. The patrolling teams cover beaches at Kem Terendak Tanjung Bidara, Padang Kemunting, Pasir Gembur, Pulau Upeh and Balik Batu,” added the passionate turtle lover.
Amri also said that at the sanctuary, they place satellite transmitters on selected turtles to monitor their movements, and so help scientists understand the migration patterns of the turtles. Such data is useful in identifying the potential threats to turtles, and helping conservationists to come up with ways to protect these reptiles. These turtles often swim over long distances and return to Malacca’s beaches to nest.
The Padang Kemunting beach is important as it houses the sole hatchery in Malacca. The club, monitored by the Fisheries Department, regulates egg collection by the local community by giving out a restricted number of licences. All eggs collected are required to be sold to the Department for incubation and are transported to this hatchery for incubation.
The eggs take 45 to 65 days to hatch, and the hatching season is from March to September. During these months, the sanctuary allows a limited number of tourists to release the hatchlings into the sea, under the guidance of WWF personnel.
Unfortunately, egg poaching along the beach is prevalent, according to Amri. The villagers’ houses are a stone’s throw away from the nesting beach, making it easily accessible. If that is not enough, this beach is also a popular recreational spot and is lined with endless rows of chalets.
“Lighting, human presence and tourist activity on the beach at night are big concerns in this area,” explained Amri.
But there is reason for some optimism as, in recent months, a chalet operator has indicated interest in changing its operations and practices. In return, the benefit could be additional revenue from guided turtle-watching activities and hatchling releases. Padang Kemunting surely has the potential to be a turtle-friendly belt where tourism is practised in a responsible manner to sustain the natural heritage within.
For 22-year-old Nur Atirah Abd Shukor, being a member of the club has been an eye-opening experience for her.
“Being born here, I knew about the the turtles but it was a friend’s idea that we should join the club. And I said yes immediately because I always wanted to do something different. And I have been enjoying my time here (at the sanctuary).
“There’s no one specific task for us to do at the club,” said Atirah, who is also the club’s treasurer. “On a daily basis, we just do things together, like manning the souvenir counter, cleaning the turtle pond, do night patrolling to watch the turtles come ashore, be in charge of the exhibition centre, and talking to visitors and tourists who come to the club to learn more about hawksbill turtles.”
She added that the club’s funding comes mainly from the sale of souvenirs and tour packages that include sighting the nesting turtles and witnessing the hatchlings’ release; 35% of the revenue is channelled into a special fund for hawksbill conservation.
“It has been a really exciting experience for me, meeting people from all walks of life and telling them what we do here at the club in protecting our treasure – the hawksbill turtles,” said Atirah.
Mohamad Hashim, a staff member of the Fisheries Department, also volunteers at the club. He deals mainly with corporate bodies and members of the public who want to participate in the club’s activities.
Mohamad said that when he first joined the department in the late-1990s, he was not really aware of turtles and their conservation.
However, as his new job started to grow on him, Mohamad, 44, began to learn about turtles and conservation efforts. He is now so involved that he has roped in his wife to be a part-time volunteer at the sanctuary.
> The Padang Kemunting Sea Turtle Sanctuary is open daily from 10am to 4pm, except on Mondays and public holidays. Admission is free.
Volunteers play a big role
The Star 14 Oct 13;
VOLUNTEERISM is extremely important in conservation efforts for the hawksbill turtle.
According to Low Min Min of WWF Malacca, volunteers are greatly needed as they provide invaluable manpower in its daily operations which include patrolling the nesting sites and collecting data.
WWF has been on hand since the formation of the Hawksbill Eco-Club in November 2011.
“I’m so happy to see how the club has progressed in these two years. I couldn’t be more proud!” said Low in a telephone interview.
She added that the club was formed with the aim of empowering the villagers, especially the younger generation, with knowledge of eco-tourism which has long-term benefits for everyone involved.
“What we do at WWF is give these young people in Padang Kemunting village ongoing training in eco-tourism, with strict guidelines. In doing so, the club will, in return, be a role model for the local community on how to carry out conservation efforts. They stand to reap financial benefits from it while preserving the environment. It is a win-win situation for everyone involved.”
Without the co-operation of the community, environmentalists, traders and the government, WWF Malaysia’s turtle conservation programme in Malacca would not have reaped the success it enjoys today, said Low.
According to her, Malacca’s coastline saw one of the highest numbers of nestings of hawksbill turtles in 2011, a success story made possible through collaboration between the state government, non-governmental organisations and members of the public. Over 500 nestings were recorded, an achievement comparable to that of Sabah Turtle Island, one of the main nesting sites for the hawksbill turtle in Malaysia.
The inception of the Hawksbill Eco-Club is a part of the Hawksbill Malacca Eco-tourism awareness programme, whereby operators are educated about proper practices when conducting tours, without disturbing the turtles or their habitat.
Low pointed out that the young club is still in the learning stage. It needs continuous support from corporate bodies and members of the public in order to function efficiently.
“We at WWF are giving them training in doing paperwork and soliciting funds from corporate bodies. At the moment, the club members are being paid by WWF, so it would be very nice if they could start earning extra income as a club.
“I’m so happy to know that these youngsters at Eco-Club are putting aside a percentage of the club’s revenue for a special fund for hawksbill turtle conservation.”
> For more details about the Hawksbill Eco-Club, e-mail: kekal_hawksbill@yahoo.com or go to its Facebook account (facebook.com/HawksbillEcoClub).
Favourite nesting place
The Star 14 Oct 13;
MALACCA’S coastline – with its narrow beaches and facing one of the busiest shipping channels in the world – is not what one would typically consider prime turtle nesting habitat.
Nevertheless, it is the second largest nesting area for the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) in South-East Asia, after Sabah’s Turtle Island. An average of 400 nestings (exclusively hawksbill turtle) are recorded yearly by the Fisheries Department, the country’s management authority for sea turtles.
At present, four prime rookeries are home to approximately 80% of the nesting population in Malacca: Pulau Upeh (Upeh Island), Kem Terendak, Padang Kemunting and the Tanjung Dahan-Tanjung Serai stretch.
The hawksbill turtle got its name because of its beak that resembles the eagle’s. It is regarded as one of the most beautiful species of marine turtles due to the striking golden-brown pattern of its carapace.
Hawksbill turtles have been hunted for decades for their shells and eggs. Their shells are used as decorations while their eggs are a delicacy among the locals.
The Fisheries Rule (Turtles and Turtle’s Eggs) was enacted in 1989 to protect these eggs from being over-harvested; only licensed egg collectors are allowed to collect the eggs.
All the eggs collected are then sent to the hatchery at Padang Kemunting Sea Turtle Sanctuary for incubation.
The nesting season is from March to September – with May, June and July being the peak months.
Charlene Poon, Today Online, 5 Oct 13;
Mr Soe Tint, a 59-year-old general worker in Ma Kjee Kan village, used to have to walk 10 minutes to collect water from a shallow 12m well.
He did this with two recycled plastic bottles attached to a pole — and as these could not hold more than 4 litres of water, he had to make several trips daily for his family’s drinking, washing and bathing needs.
Mr Soe Tint is one of nearly 40 million people in Myanmar who live in the countryside, where limited access to water sources, clean water and basic health facilities poses implications for health and livelihoods.
Villagers typically rely on ponds or shallow wells where water collects during the monsoon season. Over the hot dry months from March to May, these water sources get depleted and become heavy with sediment.
“My children fall sick with diarrhoea if they drink the water without boiling it,” he says. “It costs about 10,000 kyats (S$13) per trip to the Kaw Hmu Hospital. Buying firewood costs us 100 to 500 kyats.”
For Mr Soe Tint’s family, which has a combined daily income of 2,000 kyats, the costs add up.
When Cyclone Nargis hit in 2008, villages in the Irrawaddy Delta suffered — water, sanitation, electricity and communication were cut off. According to a 2010 survey by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), less than 30 per cent of the population in the delta region had access to safe drinking water.
Mr Soe Tint’s situation changed in April this year, when a 122m-deep community tube well was installed in Ma Kjee Kan village with the help of volunteers from Singapore.
Now, the villagers need only turn on a tap for clean drinking water that does not need to be boiled — it comes from deep groundwater reserves which are purer than surface water. The well operates with an electric pump, which the villagers share the cost and maintenance of.
Thirty-six such wells are being installed over three years in the townships of Kaw Hmu and Kungyangon under the Singapore International Foundation’s (SIF) Water for Life (Yangon) programme in partnership with local non-government organisation Mingalar Myanmar and sponsored by Keppel Land and the Singapore Red Cross.
In the village of Zee Kone, their own new tube well has enabled provisions seller Ma Maw, 39, to plant and sell betel leaf all year round, instead of for only a few months. It also helps in watering the livestock.
“My income and livelihood have improved,” she says. “We are so thankful for the well.”
Water for Life (Yangon) will also conduct community education programmes on basic hygiene and nutrition for villagers, and refurbish five rural health centres and two district hospitals. Medical staff will be trained by specialist volunteers recruited via the SIF.
The foundation’s Chairman Euleen Goh describes it as “stretching out many hands of friendship ... between the people of Myanmar and Singapore, and between the villagers and volunteers”. Five Keppel Land employees gave their time for the April launch of the project and regular volunteering opportunities are now offered to the company’s staff and the Keppel Group.
Indeed, Keppel is not the only corporation that has taken to offering employees volunteering opportunities overseas as a way of giving back to the community.
Deutsche Bank Asia — which has sponsored the SIF’s Water for Life project in Siem Reap, Cambodia, since 2010 — recently called for applications from staff for a volunteer trip there, as part of the Deutsche Bank Asia Foundation’s 10th anniversary. It received 200 applications, of which 22 made the cut.
Over the two-day trip, 20 bio-sand filters were built and installed in villagers’ homes, giving more than 200 Cambodian villagers access to clean drinking water — a matter of life and death in a country where infant mortality rates are among the highest in Asia, largely due to water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, Hepatitis A and typhoid.
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Laurence Lien wants to help people contribute in meaningful ways
Wong Kim Hoh, Straits Times 16 Dec 09;
FIRST, the good news.
More Singaporeans are stepping forward to help others, or to make a difference in their community or the world they live in.
According to the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), which conducts regular surveys on giving, the volunteerism rate has risen from a miserly 9.3 per cent in 2000 to 16.9 per cent last year.
'By any measure I think that's a success. But I think we can do a lot better,' says NVPC chief executive Laurence Lien, who was speaking to The Straits Times after celebrating International Volunteer Day two weeks ago.
Indeed, Singaporeans come off rather poorly when compared with Britain, which boasts a volunteerism rate of 50 per cent, or the United States, where it is 25 per cent.
Mr Lien, 39, acknowledges that it may not be fair to compare because different survey methodologies may have been used, but believes that Singapore should aspire for a volunteerism rate of 30 per cent.
'It's achievable because our survey shows that 35 per cent or about one-third of Singaporeans - including those who are currently volunteering - say they are likely to volunteer in the future,' he says.
There is just one snag - 'they are not finding the volunteer opportunities, or the right type of volunteer opportunities', says Mr Lien, who likens the situation to 'a labour market sort of mismatch'.
He explains: 'Many voluntary host organisations (VHOs) are looking for volunteers who can turn up the same day, same time, every week for the next year, two years and three years, whereas the volunteers who are living very hectic lives are saying: 'I can't make that sort of commitment'.'
It does not help that many volunteer organisations are not flexible and some are poorly organised when it comes to engaging and managing volunteers.
'This is, of course, a generalisation because there are a lot of agencies that do engage and manage volunteers very well but you do have a fair number too, that treat volunteers as cheap labour and a cheap resource and they don't invest in volunteers the same way they invest in paid staff.'
This is unwise as it triggers a vicious circle.
'When volunteers feel less satisfied with the experience, they become less reliable. And when that happens, volunteer organisations invest even less, which makes volunteers become even more disenchanted and they will leave volunteering.'
Mr Lien, who took over as NVPC head last year, has rolled out the Singapore Cares programme to tackle the problem.
It matches volunteers with non-profit organisations through an online portal.
The programme's philosophy is simple: to create new and flexible opportunities for Singaporeans to contribute.
This includes breaking the mindsets that many VHOs have: ad hoc programmes for ad hoc volunteers and regular projects for regular volunteers.
Singapore Cares - which was officially launched on Sept 6 - helps these companies structure regular projects using 'episodic' volunteers.
'We are actively rolling up our sleeves to create the projects, and then we organise it in such a way that there's quality control. We train the volunteer leaders and put the volunteers through orientation. It's all very structured,' he explains.
To sweeten the deal, the NVPC launched a two-year pilot programme last year that gives a grant for non-profit organisations to hire volunteer coordinators.
So far, it has disbursed the grant - valued at $60,000 each - to seven organisations.
'We want to demonstrate that if you invest, it's not just about money,' says Mr Lien.
'We are giving these outfits the volunteer management framework, and we will work with them. We hope to demonstrate that if you invest in volunteer management and your volunteers have a good experience, you will be able to retain them more, and your attrition rate will be much lower.'
The Singapore Cares database has more than 120 projects, and about 2,500 volunteers, of whom more than 1,000 are mobilised.
Mr Lien hopes to better these numbers, especially among the young. The volunteerism rate among Singaporeans aged between 15 and 24 is a very respectable 23 per cent. Unfortunately, many stop volunteering when they start working, probably because they find it 'hard to achieve work-life balance'.
That is why the NVPC has set its sight on companies to rectify the situation.
'We're not talking about companies making their employees volunteer. We're talking about companies making it easy, in fact, organising it for their employees, allowing them to have time off to volunteer,' he says.
Mr Lien believes corporate community involvement projects can be a win-win situation for the 'Net generation' - many of whom, he says, are interested in social causes - and their companies.
'If they go as a group, it will boost morale and team building. Instead of doing it on the beach or at the Outward Bound, do team building while you're volunteering and you can kill two birds with one stone,' says Mr Lien, who adds that the NVPC honours socially conscious employers with Corporate Citizen awards.
While he is generally upbeat about the state of volunteerism here, one trend makes him knit his brows.
Informal volunteering has been falling quite dramatically - from 36 per cent in 2004 to 18 per cent last year. Informal volunteering takes place outside structured programmes, such as taking an elderly neighbour to the doctor.
It is not, he points out, a Singapore phenomenon.
'It's a global trend for urbanised cities. There is a decline in the sense of community. You can attribute it to many different possibilities - the Internet, busy lives, the rise of the gated community.
'Some people now live in condominiums with private lift lobbies; they don't have to meet any neighbours going to the carpark.'
Mr Lien says we need to get back some of that community spirit.
'If our vision is to make volunteering a way of life, you need it to be ubiquitous. You need to make volunteering not just an activity that you can do only if it's structured through an organisation.'
The NVPC's solution is the vertical kampung project, which aims to bring volunteering back to the basics like looking after one's neighbour.
'We go to the ground to try to empower, to find volunteer or grassroots leaders who can work within the community, mobilise and organise on the ground and create more social capital and social trust.'
'Social capital is the foundation: It's creating friendships and getting people to meet because volunteering requires a certain amount of trust. And you have to build that first.'
For without it, Mr Lien says, volunteering may not even happen.
Q & A
Straits Times Forum 16 Dec 09;
Q According to the survey, people who volunteer more, donate more. Why is this so?
For a donor, you have to answer a few questions in your head first before you actually part with the gift. One question would be, what need is there in society? In Singapore, you often hear people ask, doesn't the Government take care of everything? So if your impression is that all needs are well taken care of, why donate?
If you've identified the cause, the second question is which organisation is serving this cause. When you're a volunteer, you have both questions answered already. You can see the needs for yourself. And if you continue volunteering with that organisation, you must believe in the work, and that it is worth donating money too. Increasingly, people want to see how the money is being spent and I think volunteers can clearly see that too.
Q The NVPC surveys indicate that while the rate of volunteerism among the young has increased, it has remained stagnant with the seniors, at about 25 per cent. How would you persuade them to volunteer?
Active ageing should be about catering to the social, emotional and spiritual well-being, not just the physical, financial and mental health. It shouldn't just be about exercising, dancing and learning something new, but also about the joys of giving. Often, nothing lifts the spirits more than being a gift to others.
Our seniors have so much to give back - not just time, but also their wisdom, values and experience. They can especially be such a great resource to our young. The third age is the right time for our seniors to start leaving their personal legacy behind.
Q Last year, a non-governmental organisation in Britain created a big debate when it offered tickets to a rock concert as an incentive for young people to volunteer. What are your thoughts on this?
I think it could be something that's okay to get people started but to keep it sustainable, people need to be intrinsically motivated rather than extrinsically motivated.
If these people had never volunteered before, well maybe, because you want to encourage them to try out and maybe get hooked. But I wouldn't do it as a regular thing to keep the flames going. If it's a significant benefit, it's not volunteering any more, right? It's payment.
Q You have three young sons. How do you teach them the importance of volunteerism?
One is by modelling. Last semester, I was a volunteer reader in my eldest son's school. They have a reading programme every week, and I think five parents take on six kids each.
At NVPC, we also want to promote family volunteering. So for one Singapore Cares project, I took one of my sons to Pasir Ris beach for a clean-up. It's amazing how much dirt there was and the number of plastic bags we pulled out.
Tycoon's grandson
Straits Times 16 Dec 09;
MR LAURENCE Lien, 39, is the chief executive officer of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre.
An Oxford Scholar, the grandson of the late banking tycoon and philanthropist Lien Ying Chow spent 14 years in the Administrative Service.
He was a high flier at the Ministry of Finance where, among other things, he was involved in formulating the new spending rule on reserves, and the code of conduct for sovereign wealth funds.
He also worked in the Home Affairs and Education ministries, as well as the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, where his portfolios ranged from ageing to pro-natal policies.
Mr Lien, who has a master's in business administration from the National University of Singapore, as well as a master's in public administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, also chairs the Lien Foundation.
He is married to a housewife and they have three sons, aged three, five and seven.
We can do better
Straits Times Forum 19 Dec 09;
I READ with interest Wednesday's interview with National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre chief executive Laurence Lien, 'Opening up opportunities to volunteer'.
Singapore has about 17 per cent participation in volunteerism, and this is still some way from what other countries with similar living standards have achieved. We can do better and must find ways to do so.
Some Singaporeans shun volunteer work, thinking such activities are for those who have no family commitments. Others have the notion that volunteerism is for senior citizens who have a lot of time to spare.
While younger Singaporeans fare better with a volunteerism rate of 23 per cent, it does not bode well for the future as most of them will stop when they enter the job market. They will be more concerned with climbing the corporate ladder in their endless pursuit of success.
With a rapidly ageing population, Singapore should do more to promote volunteerism, especially in social services. We must be prepared to commit ourselves to community work now and, at the same time, train more people for the future when 800,000 or 25 per cent of the population will be 60 and above by 2030.
I cannot agree more with Mr Lien, who believes companies can play a pivotal role by organising and giving their employees time off to engage in voluntary work.
Another important aspect is the need to train volunteers and match them with agencies in community work. Volunteers should not be treated as general workers used by social organisations. They need to be respected and recognised for their contribution.
They should be assigned jobs they enjoy doing, and use should be made of their experience and skills. A mismatched assignment will cause disenchantment and demoralise those involved. The end result? They quit.
There has been a steady increase in the number of companies involved in community service. With the support of their employees, a greater sense of caring and sharing will be inculcated.
This will spur Singapore to achieve a much higher participation rate in voluntary work in the near future.
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Lively East Coast Shore
from God's wonderful creation
Anemone Army Manoeuvres in the Mud
from wild shores of singapore
The long and short of Sekudu
from The annotated budak and shell short
Pacific Swallow feeding chicks I
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Collared Kingfisher: Food for the chick
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Romancing the Pearl of the Orient
from Butterflies of Singapore
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visitors since Nov 07