Over-educated and Underfunded
Weird, wacky and wonderful stories and sketches from biologists in the field.
By Ariana LoehrThe landscape of Sulawesi is supposed to be as beautiful as it is remote- not that I’d know, as our global stay home notice limits me to the grainy google streetview pictures. While I would have loved to visit this incredible island to provide my time and skills by volunteering at a conservation organization, this is no longer an option for me or any like minded young professionals passionate to pursue wildlife conservation. So what will happen to the organisations that are dependent on foreign volunteers and tourism for funding and assistance? We sat down with the volunteer coordinator for the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Center, Sylvia Gan, to find out more about what one organization is doing to stay afloat. Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Center, located on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, is a rehabilitation center for wildlife that was bound for sale in the illegal wildlife trade. The center itself houses sun bears, slow lorises, Sulawesi macaques, tarsiers, cassowaries and many other birds that have all been rescued. In order to handle the large amount of care that these animals need, Tasikoki hosts up to 10 volunteers at a time during the peak season in June to August. Most of these volunteers are European tourists or students on their summer holidays, which they’ve given up to create enrichment food and activities for the animals in captivity. "We don't know how it's going to stress the animals out" During mid-February, Ms. Gan started to notice that there were no more bookings for volunteers, a sight which was fairly unusual for this time of year. Then, seemingly overnight, volunteers, school groups and tourist bookings virtually disappeared due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. Sylvia, a long term volunteer herself, was recommended to return to her home in Singapore as well. While these volunteers prove crucial to the everyday functioning of the conservation organization, her concern lies more deeply with the mental health of the animals in the long term, “if [the covid lockdown] goes on for a long time, like over a year or so, it’s really hard to measure because we don’t know how much it’s going to stress the animals out if they don’t get enough variability in their diets and environment”. More seriously, is the impact that the lack of tourism has on Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Center whose main source of revenue comes from hosting school trips and tourists who come to see the vast grounds and unique animal inhabitants. “We’re not making money but we still need to pay the keepers, the wildlife still needs to eat every single day.” Sylvia worries, “Those costs don’t decrease”. Currently, many conservation organisations globally are facing similar concerns, with experts on panels for the Ape Alliance and One Stop Borneo debating the use of tourism to fund conservation during virtual events. While many conservationists argue for increased funding from governments, it is unlikely to become the reality in many biodiversity hotspots. Instead, Tasikoki has turned to the age-old tactic of crowdfunding to keep the organization afloat. They’ve raised enough money for wages and food for the animals for the next few months thanks to the strong connections of Tasikoki’s founder, Dr. Willie Smits. For now, Tasikoki is lucky to be able to continue its great work, but who knows how long that money will last or how long this global lockdown will last. Until we’re all free to travel again, many conservation groups will be struggling for lack of staff and funding. One of the greatest lessons that all conservation organizations can take away from this pandemic is that it helps to diversify your funding sources to ensure that your positive impact on nature is sustainable through every crisis. If you’d like to donate to help keep Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Center around for the long haul, click the button below.
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About the AuthorsThese stories come from several biologists working in the field around the globe. Archives
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