environnmental education – Kathy West Studios

Story and Photos by Kathy West

Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre, Cambodia. An effective and easily implemented model for community involvement and collaboration in protecting tropical forests, supporting biodiversity conservation and green tourism

Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia. Tuk tuk transportation from Siem Reap is a pleasant ride of around 1.5 hours.

The Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre (BBC), located just north of Siem Reap, is South East Asia’s largest outdoor butterfly exhibit. It was developed in an area that has a small national park and forests nearby and a predictably steady stream of tourists (that is until the Covid-19 pandemic). Founded by Ben Hayes (UK) to conserve the butterflies and forests of Cambodia, it provides a sustainable, conservation-based income for the local people from villages in the Siem Reap Province. Mr. Hayes is a consultant and biodiversity coordinator with Conservation International and has decades of experience in biological consulting and biodiversity surveys across habitats in SouthEast Asian countries. Over the past 15 years he has replicated this model butterfly program across many countries in SE Asia and Africa, providing financial security and conservation awareness with people in communities that border forest habitats.

Most types of agriculture in tropical countries require forest clearance and this habitat destruction is a major cause of species extinction. Butterfly farming is a partnership between local farmers and conservation scientists – requiring intact forests it provides an economic incentive to conserve habitats. Farmed sustainably, the butterflies are bred and reared in enclosures with limited extraction from the wild, and has a negligible impact on the health of wild populations. Through this community-based program farmers are provided with a secure monthly income for raising the butterfly pupae and gives incentive to protect the forest and thereby its biodiversity. The program also promotes and supports sustainable agriculture programs, reducing the use of natural resources, improving water catchment, and helping people to be less reliant on harvesting from the forest and deforestation.

(L) Traditional farming in Cambodia with mixed forest edges; (R) Leopard lacewings (Cethosia cyane), BBC, Cambodia

Participating farmers prepare a small netted enclosure and plant the particular food plant for the species of butterfly they want to attract. A female butterfly is placed in a breeding cage to lay her eggs which are harvested by the farmer and placed in a container safe from pests. The hatched caterpillars (larvae) are transferred to the netted enclosure and are cared for until they are ready to pupate, when the larvae attach to a stick and shed their skin to form a chrysalis cocoon. A portion of these chrysalis pupae are sold through the BBC to local and international zoos, botanical gardens and butterfly exhibits. The farmer maintains his colony by keeping some of the pupae to hatch and return the adults to the breeding cage, so as not to remove more butterflies from the wild. Additionally, 10-15% of the farmed butterflies are released into the wild to promote local butterfly diversity.

Butterflies farmed in the BBC program are large, colorful and common species (not rare, threatened or endangered) for export to public exhibits. The species are selected are those with a long pupation time in order to transport them from the farm to the international exhibit in time before hatching. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the European exhibit market, one of the main buyers for farmer-raised pupae, has entirely shut down. Not only are exhibits closed but airlines are not flying their normal, frequent schedules and are not able to transfer the pupae from Cambodia to Europe in time.

The pandemic has also had a serious impact on tourism with a 98% reduction in visitors to Cambodia. This lack of tourism in addition to eliminating exports has been devastating both in Cambodia and the European Union.

During this difficult year of pandemic limitations, Mr. Hayes has received some small grants to continue to pay the salaries of BBC staff and farmers, so that the Butterfly Centre is ready to open up to visitors again. He is cautiously optimistic that semi-normal operations will restart by the end of 2021, when flights can resume a more normal frequency and the European exhibit market is functioning. Meanwhile, the farmers continued to get paid for their work thereby protecting the forests and the biodiversity. Currently the BBC supports 20-25 people between the BBC (Siem Reap Province) and another Cambodian butterfly program under development.

BBC staff use adhesive to attach the chrysalises to sticks for pupation inside of the netted center.

(L) Larvae of the Dysphania Militaris moth. As with the caterpillars, the moths of this species are brightly colored and often mistaken for a butterfly; (R) Leopard lacewing (Cethosia cyane) caterpillar

With the help of Conservation International, Mr. Hayes has begun to establish more butterfly farming in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains (Koh Kong Province). This new program is centered on the reduction of natural resource consumption, working with communities to reduce their dependence on hunting and logging, and giving them some financial security so that they are not reliant on illegal forest activities. The people have formed a cooperative team and get paid on a monthly basis as staff. This not only reduces the environmental impact of their lifestyles but reduces the need for migrating to find work in other provinces (Conservation International butterfly farming project video).

These butterfly farming programs are excellent examples of sustainable success in community-based conservation efforts. They support local people by providing them with income which encourages them in the protection of forest habitats. Farmers, their families and communities have a secure financial base and become active conservation partners in forest and biodiversity conservation.

A Birdwing butterfly (Troides helena) at the BBC. Commonly found in Cambodia, Troides is farmed locally and not exported as it is protected internationally by CITES restrictions.

Images by Kathy West, Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre, January 2017. Special thanks to Lux Phem, BBC Manager, for the early morning tour.

Story and Photos by Kathy West

There is a supernatural ambiance to Madagascar’s incredibly diverse habitats, rich species biodiversity, implausibly-unique animals, strange drought tolerant plants, and stunningly beautiful landscapes.

Pre-pandemic, ecotourists came in droves from around the world to see the lemurs and discover for themselves the tiniest chameleon in the world, Brookesia nana, the fairy-like Paradise flycatcher, the odd fleshy-face of Schlegel’s asity, and the red, succulent-like plants perched on the razor-sharp Tsingy rock.

1. The Indri (Indri indri) is Madagascar’s largest living lemur and is dangerously close to extinction. Due to unregulated and destructive mining and deforestation practices, even in protected areas the Indri is threatened. In Andisabe National Park, the remaining population is only around 110 individuals (2017) and other tiny populations are scattered throughout eastern Madagascar’s isolated sections of forests. These gentle, singing lemurs live in monogamous family units and have not been successfully bred in captivity like so many other lemur species. However, they are surviving and reproducing in an isolated private preserve (Palmarium, Ankanin’ny Nofy) on a peninsula in Lake Ampitabe, on the East coast of Madagascar. 2. Schlegel’s Asity (Philepitta schlegeli), male, Ankarafantsika NP. 3. Red Euphorbia plant on Tsingy rock, Ankarana NP

Yet, across Madagascar, even in the lushest of rainforest habitats, there has been a relentless destruction of the forests though the intense pressure from the growing human population to cut and burn forests for growing rice, grazing zebu cattle, and making charcoal, their main source of cooking fuel. In the most protected of Madagascar’s rainforests, such as those of the Masoala peninsula, 9 out of 10 species of lemurs are vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered with some species’ only remaining populations found in small, isolated areas.

Humans arrived in Madagascar from SE Asia around 4,000 years ago and found a forested island full of gorilla-sized lemurs, giant flightless birds, and a richness of plant life to support their growing populations. Fast forward to the present and there are now 25 million people living in Madagascar, many with food insecurity and difficultly growing staples in poor soils resulting from slash and burn agricultural techniques (tavy). There is also a large percentage of the population that is mobile due to the lack of land ownership, crowding in the cities, and few opportunities for income. Approximately 95% of the forest has been removed and pristine forest habitat precariously remains in small protected areas.

While visiting Madagascar in 2017, I found it overwhelming to consider the enormous amount of deforestation, habitat destruction, human over-population, poverty and food insecurity, and the impending risk of losing most lemur species to extinction.

But then, stepping back I took stock of the myriad of conservation programs working in Madagascar to help restore the balance. Effective international programs are supporting Malagasy efforts with infrastructure and education to assist with learning to grow sustainable food sources (delicious “bacon bugs”), discover new cooking fuels (solar stoves), teach good sanitation and sustainable solutions (SEED), develop reforestation and forest protection programs (research is showing that even newly planted seedings can have a quick, positive impact on water retention), and educate children in the basics as well as developing environmental curricula (UNICEF and others).

I am hopeful that with these efforts and the hundreds of others underway, there will be a tremendous improvement in the protection of the lemurs as well as the quality of life and health of the communities. With education as the foundation, the Malagasy people can build a collaborative alliance with the local biodiversity to protect the lemurs and preserve their own lifestyles.

(L) Rice is a staple food for the Malagasy people and generations of farmers use the same area for their crops. However, with a rapidly increasing population and more people leaving the cities for the countryside, new lands are being deforested and prepared for growing rice. Fortunately rice growers don’t have to rely on soil quality for their crops. However, after slash and burn techniques, the soil is depleted for other crops or reforestation.

(R) The nocturnal Ankarana Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur ankaranensis) is another endangered lemur species whose population is in decline due to habitat loss (here pictured in Ankarana National Park, NW Madagascar). It may not be as charismatic as the singing indri but it also benefits from the protection of the forest as do thousands of other unique, endemic species found only in Madagascar.

Education
As I gathered images from my travels in Madagascar and then attended professional meetings with the American Society of Primatologists, I began to frame an idea using education and visual arts as a pathway to conservation.

In order to contribute to conservation solutions through education and using my photography and communication skills, I founded a nonprofit organization, Photography Inspiring Children in Conservation (PICC). This project is based upon the concept of truly seeing and engaging with the natural world through visual arts. The PICC program goal is to inspire students to become conservation leaders within their communities by providing them with knowledge of primate ecology, local conservation issues and solutions, and through learning the skills of photography, field sketching, and writing.

In working in collaboration with local primate-habitat communities we celebrate their relationship with, and together learn about their local ecosystem and endangered wildlife. The PICC sessions are designed with a goal of building local capacity for sustainable conservation through educating and empowering both the children and the broader community, including local teachers and elders. The sessions teach the children the skills of photography, writing and field sketching and follow up with publication of these students’ creative works in a book. Local sales of these books go to building funds for continued engagement with conservation issues and solutions. The children’s stories, photos and drawings are a relatable platform to engage people of all ages with the wonderfully unique characters that make up the lemur family, and to share awareness of conservation issues in Madagascar.

(L) Chickens and ducks are the most used source of protein in Madagascar and can be a sustainable and low impact food resource. Organizations such as Mad Dog Initiative (link) are supporting the health of these flocks throughout the country by inoculating them against Newcastle Disease. A more resource-heavy and habitat destructive protein source is zebu cattle that are a prominent part of their livelihoods, cultural celebrations and burial ceremonies.

(R) Ankarafantsika National Park. Malagasy families live around the park and commonly use the forest resources as well as the plumbing infrastructure at the lodges. Water is a precious resource and children are seen collecting it throughout the day from rivers, lakes or from communal faucets in their village (at a cost).

Sharing these conservation success stories celebrates the progress, achievements and passion of the children, and the successes of protecting their local forests and wildlife. After mini-PICC (pandemic) sessions in villages of the Masoala peninsula (2020 and 2021), I am hearing reports from the Malagasy staff that children are teaching their parents to protect the forest through their new-found love of the lemurs and understanding of habitat needs. These children are sharing with their families what happens with habitat destruction and how it affects the lemur families, reduces water flow and retention, depletes fish stocks, increases land degradation, reduces crop output, and reduces tourism.

Malagasy children are fortunate if they are able to attend school even part-time, walking long distances from their homes to attend a few hours of school per day. Limitations for children’s education are many: families must financially support 40% of their children’s school costs, most teachers are not paid and are inconsistent about attending school to teach, 97% of teachers are not professionally certified, and even when the children complete their education only 17% are competent in reading and 20% in math. Official, national environmental curricula has been lacking in Madagascar. Only recently has the Ministry of National Education, through the Environmental Education Department and in collaboration with UNICEF, launched the Environmental Education for Sustainable Development program with resources to strengthen awareness and knowledge in students and teachers (Oct 2020).

One of the most common solutions to sustainable success in protecting bio-rich habitats such as in Madagascar is through developing a strong system of ecotourism to host international visitors and provide a reliable source of income. PICC students gain skills in visual communication methods, providing an effective foundation upon which they can successfully build conservation-oriented careers in eco-tourism, guiding, and communications.

(L) A guided walk for international tourists (2017) through the forests at Amber Mountain National Park, led by a professionally certified guide. As is becoming increasingly obvious during the Covid-19 pandemic, with bans on travel into and within Madagascar, eco-tourism is one of the best solutions to protecting the biodiversity and lifting the local populations out of poverty.

(R) These dried mudflow erosion scars, locally called “Red Tsingy” or “Lavaka”, are adjacent to Ankarafantsika National Park. A result of deforestation, this extraordinarily large erosion canyon continues to claim more of this land. Just meters from the Tsingy are burned forests and destructive land use with slash and burn agriculture, destroying more forests and soil for both future crops or reforestation, and turning previous lemur habitat into wastelands.

Conservation in Madagascar is not only about saving the lemurs, but they are some of the country’s most visible and endearing species. Protecting the lemurs as an umbrella species means protecting all of the wondrous plants and animals that are unique to Madagascar and comprise the complex ecosystems that are spread across this island. Building awareness and capacity through education is the key to preventing the runaway environmental destruction and giving the Malagasy people hope for healthy and productive lives in their beautiful country.

Smoke from grass and forest fires hangs over a valley near Ankarana National Park in NW Madagascar. Here, the Sakalava people live in the valley, farming what they can from the poor soils, grazing their zebu cattle by using frequent grass fires to regenerate growth, and harvesting wood and resources from the nearby forests.

The PICC program is active in numerous locations in Madagascar as well as in Kenya and Uganda. Please help us to build environmental awareness and capacity in indigenous communities in primate habitat countries, and to develop future conservation leaders with our PICC sessions. Photography Inspiring Children in Conservation is a 501c3 nonprofit. 100% of your donations go directly to the children’s education programs.