HAWAI'I
Site of WILD's first international conference
mapping the endangered wilderness in the Neotropical Realm Photo credit: Tim Matheson
Beginning in September of 1989, WILD's two staff and 25 volunteers spent most of their time working on the campaign's first international conference. Honolulu, Hawaii emerged as the ideal location. Why? The archipelago, one of the most isolated in the world, is a microcosm showing the deleterious effects of development on fragile and unique natural ecosystems. It was also geographically central to three regions full of wilderness hotspots--southeast Asia, tropical Latin America and North America's Pacific Northwest, Added bonuses were the exceptional facilities at Honolulu's East-West Center and the reasonable airfares from North America.
On a trip to check out the conference site in January of 1900, WILD was lucky enough to meet several native Hawaiian groups at Kumu Honua. As local native hosts for the conference, they worked exceptionally hard to provide the local planning and attention to details that would have been impossible to do from 3,000 miles away in Vancouver. Gradually, the immensity of not only the task or Organizing a conference, but the job ahead of mapping all of planet Earth's natural ecosystems, dawned on the organizers. By then, it was too late. We were committed. After a 25 hour airport trip from Vancouver to Honolulu, (another whole story), 15 WILD staff and volunteers arrived at noon on the day before the conference began. The conference schedule consisted of four daily events, a native Hawaiian "meditation" period in the morning, followed by thematic panel discussions during which the massive scope of the world's biodiversity crisis became clearer. In the afternoon, smaller regional groups formed to work on mapping. Slide shows and special events were held in the evening.
mapping the endangered wilderness in the Neotropical Realm Photo credit: Tim Matheson
As the first few days of the conference unfolded, some native/non- native tensions arose. They were resolved as people realized that, regardless of our birth heritage, all of us are in jeopardy from humankind's technological assault on nature. Civilization's war on the natural world could spell ultimate doom for all life as we know it.
One hundred and fifty participants represented 26 different nations at the conference. They ranged from highly trained cartographoers to those who ere suspicious of all maps because maps had always represented the power to exploit. Each one of the seven afternoon mapping groups was unique, both because of the geography to chart, and the personalities involved.
Excerpts from Guadeloupe (Ganga) Jolicoeur's summary of the Neotropical realm's report provide one flavour-- a Latin one.
"The Neotropical Realm's working sessions consisted of twelve delegates representing seven Latin American countries and a dozen environmental organizations. With such a competent group of professionals, mapping and other related work began at once. They came with maps of their countries' protected areas, so the main objective of the sessions was to identify unprotected areas needing protection.
While working on their maps, the group discussed the concept of wilderness, the categorization of proposed protected areas, the process of information gathering, and the methodology of the mapping process. The group clarified its definition of areas that merit preservation. The semantics and the particulars of this definition were specifically chosen with Latin America in mind. However, the general concept is applicable all over the world. These areas are:
"Areas dominated by primeval ecosystems whose preservation is necessary for the proper maintenance of biological and cultural diversity and the perpetuation of the biophysical and ecological integrity of the earth."
What could easily be observed from the mapping work was that there is a tremendous amount of wilderness to be saved. In Brazil, for instance, a place most of us associate only with the Amazon, the entire coastal rainforest, of Mata Atlantica is being devastated by deforestation, air pollution, oil spills, and urbanization. A mere eight percent of the forest remains and must be protected. In Chile, the home of the largest tracts of temperate rainforest in the world, hundreds of thousands of acres are in the immediate danger of being logged for the production of fax and computer paper. In Costa Rica, Play Grande, one of the few breeding grounds left for the leather backed turtle, is threatened by the excessive tourism. And in Ecuador, the mangroves of San Lorenzo, part of the country's largest undamaged mangrove system, are threatened by dynamite fishing and the proposed development of a major road system.
Although much of Latin America faces similar crises, the region has seen some monumental victories for the environment: the 250,000 hectare La Amistad park in Costa Rica; Guatemala's extraordinary Biosfera Maya, which encompasses 1,600,000 hectares of wilderness and archaeological ruins; Ecuador's 679,000 hectare Yasuni National Park in the Amazon forest.
These successes were possible because of particular conservation strategies. Fundraising, political lobbying, development of good relations between conservationists and indigenous people, and the importance of global networking amongst grass roots organizations, were all identified as important.
Kwmo John Lake, Hawaiian spiritual leader, set the theme for the day Photo credit: Tim Matheson
The working sessions provided an excellent format for the compilation and exchange of information on both the continuing desecration as well as the potential preservation of Latin America's wilderness. Although the realm lacked representation from many of the countries, those that were present accomplished a great deal. The decision of the neotropical working group to host a regional conference to continue the mapping work in Latin America was unanimous.
When the WILD's Hawaii conference was over, the mapping was underway. New friendships had formed, forged with the bond of sharing the WILD Dream.
The Hawaii WILD Conference Report, approximately 100 pages long, is just about finished and conference participants will be receiving their copy soon. Others not so fortunate to have been able to attend the memorable Hawaii conference can purchase a copy--only $15.
