Darwin Initiative
Protecting the Las Perlas Archipelago of Pacific Panama
Seven researchers from Heriot-Watt University (two of them Darwin Fellows from Panama involved in the 'Las Perlas' Darwin Initiative Project) took part in a field trip from May 6th' 21st, 2005 to complete a series of surveys of the islands that started three years ago. The project has turned out to be one of the most important accomplishments in recent years for the protection of marine ecosystems in Panama.
Under the direction of Dr. James Mair (Darwin Project Leader) and Dr. Hector Guzman (host country Project Co-ordinator from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute ' (STRI 'www.stri.org), varied studies have been undertaken in Las Perlas (Pearl Islands) Archipelago in order to support the designation of Marine Protected Area zoning throughout this important Panamanian marine ecosystem, that also forms an essential part of the Marine Biological Corridor of the Tropical Eastern Pacific.
Over the three years of the project a series of inter-related issues have been investigated, and as another part of the Darwin Initiative project, three Panamanians have undergone Master degree studies at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. In 2003-04, Beatriz Medina carried out a study on the Scallop fishery of the Archipelago, and over the last year (2004-05) two new Fellows from Panama, were invited to form part of this project and began their field work: Geographer and GIS expert, Jose Miguel Guevara, was tasked to recover information on erosion on the forest of the islands; and I, (Marine Biologist, Inez Campbell) undertook a socio-ecological survey of the fishery communities in order to begin a process of participation among local inhabitants of the islands and government for the implementation of a marine protected area. These series of studies have played a crucial part in what is now a nearly complete legal process to designate the Archipelago of Las Perlas as a Special Management Zone. This will protect a large percentage of the total area of the land and marine ecosystems from overexploitation of the resources of the area.
This year the research team was joined by two other of my MSc course classmates: Karen Greaney who set out to study the presence of heavy metals in sediments as part of her MSc dissertation; and Orea Anderson, who undertook a study of the economically important fish stocks of red snapper. In addition, two Heriot-Watt University PhD students from Colombia joined the team: Lina Barrios, who was studying the ecology of reef-associated tubiculous molluscs; and Nohora Galvis, who was gathering information for her thesis on 'Spatial Multicriteria Assessment of artisanal fishermen's acceptance and compliance to fisheries management'.
Working on other aspects of the project, a delegation from other countries arrived at the same time: Anthony Mitchell from Coralina in San Andres (Darwin Fellow on project 07/147) worked in conjunction with Jose Miguel Guevara on the GIS data from Las Perlas; and taxonomists Daisi Merino and Maria Fernanda Arroyo (Darwin Fellows on project 06/029) from Ecuador, and collaborators Jeffrey Sibaja and Rita Vargas (from the University of Costa Rica), came to help with benthic invertebrate sample identifications in order to prepare a map of the Las Perlas deeper water benthic communities. The Laboratory was certainly 'abuzz' with international work on the project during these three weeks.
The Archipelago of Las Perlas is also the destination for many whales, especially for the Humpback whale that migrates to mate and breed in the shelter of these islands. During three days in June, Dr. Guzman and assistant Carlos Guevara in conjunction with two whale specialists from Colombia, gave a whale seminar in three communities of the Archipelago and one seminar in Panama City. It was a very interesting seminar series aimed at educating the local communities on what to do when a whale is in the nearby waters. In addition, it served also to prepare stakeholders on aspects of the rapidly developing tourism activity of whale watching.
I can not express in enough words how thankful I am to the Darwin Initiative for giving me this opportunity to achieve my goal of obtaining a Master of Science degree in such a wonderful country as Scotland ' plus the chance to visit Campbell Castle in Dollar Glen in an exciting search for my ancestors! This experience has given me the opportunity to form part of what I hope is not just a short-term project of protecting the marine resources of my country, but that we are able to give a follow-up on a long-term basis to manage the MPA accordingly. At the end of the Darwin project I will continue working as a full-time manager in the Smithsonian's Marine Education Program, and I consider it comes in great timing that we can include a local success of protection of our own environment to show our students that environmental awareness is not just theory. Through educational exhibits and activities, they learn that resources need to be conserved and that science is working hard in this direction.
All these different efforts supported by the Darwin Initiative over the last two to three years will be presented at a formal Congress in March 2006 in Panama, at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. It will be my honor to host this event in this country and to present the immense value that this project is guaranteeing to our marine resources for the future.
Inez Campbell, Darwin Fellow, Panama.
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| Location of the project in Panama | The Darwin project this year included a study to assess the sustainability of the red snapper fishery in the south of the Archipelago |
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| The Pearl Oysters which give the Archipelago its name but which have suffered massive overexploitation in previous centuries | Contadora |
Page last modified: Sunday, 27 January 2008