Aliwal Shoal Chosen As One Of South Africa’s First Hope Spots Some of you may have heard of Dr. Sylvia Earle, others of you may not. If you belong to the latter camp, it’s about time you learned about the lady who has been a heroine for the ocean for much of her life. Dr. Earle is a world-famous oceanographer; an explorer, a conservationist and an eminent marine scientist; and she has broken several major world records in her capacity as a diver. In 1979, she set the women’s depth record with a dive to 381 metres, and in 1986 she tied the world record for a solo dive in a sub with a descent to a staggering 1,000 metres. Dr. Earle has an almost endless list of accolades to her name, including being named a Hero for the Planet by Time Magazine in 1998, holding the position of explorer-in-residence at National Geographic for sixteen years, and being appointed the first female chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She has fought tirelessly throughout her career for marine conservation, and she is an international patron of South African conservation organisation the Sustainable Seas Trust. In 2009, Dr. Earle won the TED Prize, a bursary awarded each year to an individual with a vision to change the world for the better. With those funds, she set up her own marine conservation organisation, Mission Blue, and began work on the Hope Spot initiative. Through the Hope Spot initiative, Mission Blue identifies areas that are critical to the health of the oceans- usually ones with a unique level of marine biodiversity- and then works to earn those areas full environmental protection. The support and involvement of the local community in each of the Hope Spot areas is integral to the success of this concept, and the general public is actively encouraged to take an interest in the Hope Spot initiative. The goal is that by engaging people from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds, the issue of marine conservation will become a concern for everyone- from schoolchildren to politicians, and from businessmen to scholars and scientists. By working with school groups, clubs, businesses and societies, the Hope Spots will become community-driven centres of conservation and education. They will encourage members of the general public to work alongside professional scientists, thereby bridging the gap between scientific research and public knowledge. In this way, they will inspire and motivate an entire community to work towards protecting the oceans for the future. There are currently 50 of these Hope Spots around the world, and on December 4th Dr. Sylvia Earle will arrive in South Africa to promote the first six Hope Spots in South Africa. The six spots chosen to represent South Africa’s famously diverse marine environment are Algoa Bay, Cape Whale Coast, False Bay, Knysna, Plettenburg Bay and of course, Aliwal Shoal. Aliwal Shoal is an obvious choice as one of the country’s flagship Hope Spots, thanks to the level of marine biodiversity that exists here and for which it has earned worldwide fame. We are also perfectly positioned to facilitate community involvement, and believe that the community ethos of Mission Blue’s Hope Spot programme will help to increase the success of ongoing conservation efforts here on the Shoal. For example, dive centres like Umkomaas Lodge have been fighting for years for the removal of the shark nets that exist within the Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area, as we believe that the impact they have not only on our shark populations but also on the health of the ocean in general is simply not sustainable. However, there is still demand for the presence of the nets from the general public, who fear the sharks that they believe the nets protect them from. The Aliwal Shoal Hope Spot aims to promote the education of the general public, from schoolchildren to entrepreneurs and government officials, and to teach them how to coexist with the marine environment, and how to extract value from it sustainably. By involving those that otherwise have no reason to care about the ocean, the Hope Spot could assuage the unfounded fear that perpetuates the shark nets, instead replacing it with compassion and understanding. South Africa’s first six Hope Spots are exactly that- beacons of hope for the future of marine conservation in this country. We are honoured that Aliwal Shoal has been chosen to be part of this initiative, and cannot wait to welcome Dr. Syliva Earle on her upcoming promotional tour. Dr. Earle’s tour will be organised and facilitated by Sustainable Seas Trust, and BirdLife South Africa. For more information about South Africa’s new Hope Spots, visit sst.org.za/what-we-do/hope-spots/ikhaya-lethemba-draft To book a dive and see for yourself exactly why Aliwal Shoal is worth protecting, get in contact with us via Facebook, or send an email to umkomaaslodge@gmail
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 13:23:35 +0000
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