In Ecuador, we encountered the community of Sarayaku: the only tribe of the upper Amazon who suceed to prevent the intrusion of oil, mining and lobber companies. Like in the movie Avatar, they have been harrassed and persecuted. Companies are using all sorts of strategies to enter their territory and exploit their natural resources.

The story happening in the Amazon is similar in many points to the Na’vi of Avatar expect for one aspect: The Kichwas of Sarayaku are not violent. Discover their Great Wall of Flowers: the indigenous symbol of peace, earth protection and human rights respect.

The Kichwas of Sarayaku are the community of the Zenith. They are the biodiversity defenders in the Amazon basin of Ecuador.This community is  a model of resistance; at first to colonization, then to deforestation and now to petroleum. Since 1930, the Sarayaku people have been victim of 4 violent intrusions in their territory. Companies entered their homeland with the collaboration of the police, the army and no previous consultation to make seismic exploration with explosives.

In the heart of a biodiversity hotspot: the Tropical Andes forest

Located in the Amazonian forest of Ecuador, inside the province of Pastaza, the community of 1200 Kichwas live along the Bobonaza River.The jungle is a part of the Tropical Andes forest that is considered a biodiversity hotspot. It is a biogeographic area with major resources of biodiversity that are under threat from humans. In the jungle of the upper Amazon, approximately 100 species of trees per acre have been documented. While in Central America, up to 40 species per acre have been tracked. In the temperate forests of North America and Europe, rarely more than 20 different species exist per acre.

An independent and equal society

The Kichwas of Sarayaku are autonomous and self sufficient.Their activities are divided by gender. Agriculture is primarily a female activity and hunting and fishing are reserved to men.Ceramics are made by women and men are to build houses and canoes. In fact, the feminine dominance is in the Chakra, an area where they cultivate plants, fruits and vegetables. The Chakras are cultivated by women and their purpose is to prevent monoculture. The masculine domain is in the forest, where they hunt. Gender socialization happens during the chicha -a beverage made of fermented yuca (manioc) and saliva- produced in the Chakra and provided against meet, the product of the forest.

The Great Wall of Flowers

The project was inspired by the Yachaks of Sarayaku (the shamans). The idea is to generate a great wall alive of tree flowers to cover the expanse of their territory’s borders (186 miles) as a symbol of peace, earth protection and of respect for the Indigenous people living there. The wall is a series 21520 square feet circles that are planted every 4 miles on forest fallows, so that people can see from above and with satellite pictures. The project started in 2006 and the circles are projected to be settled and flourished by 2020. Other neighbors’ communities are called to collectively join in the movement.

The human voice of the Amazon

The Indigenous people are constantly pushed in their lands. They know from the experience of other tribes at the North of Ecuador, that clean and state of the art technologies for oil exploitation in the Amazon always end up contaminating water and soil. If the companies exploit their soil and resources, they will be no more virgin nature and natural ecosystem services for the next generations. About 5000 cases of indigenous sues in Latin America are being processed in the International Court for Indigenous Human rights because of mining and oil exploitation illegal activities . Sarayaku is one of them. Sarayaku is the first step that Indigenous and the Pachamama need to survive in dignity and for the future generations.

On our first journey, we travelled to Costa Rica to unveil the key players of coastal marine biodiversity protection. Randall Arauz is the 2010 Goldman Environmental Prize winner. As the president of PRETOMA, he explains the main threats to ocean ressources in Costa Rica, teaches us the role of predators for marine ecosystems renewable services, and shares his alternatives and solutions for sustainable use of marine biodiversity.

Bejuco beach contains a beautiful 3 miles expanse of dark grey sand. The beach starts at the beginning of the Bejuco River, which contains the same name. On this estuary, a wide red mangrove protects and feeds a community of fishermen. Spread on the coastal side of the estuary, the mangrove acts as a natural barrier and prevents flooding and storms while hosting a wide diversity of species. It is a natural “super market” for the community.

The community of fishermen uses local dialect – which is like an equivalent to the Joual dialect in Quebec- called Pachuco. With a village of 50 closely knit families, the whole community depends on marine resources. The main sources of income and food come from a species of fish called “Red snapper,” which may only be caught at night.  Artisan fishing is the only fishing practice in Bejuco and it requires small motorized boats to reach a high enough level of production in order to become commercial. This model has proven to be very successful in creating local jobs and preventing rural exodus.

Artisan fishing practices range from longline fishing (a main line with baited hooks attached at intervals) to harpooning and angling.

One of the top priorities of the Bejuco community is to protect marine resources such as; seawaters, beaches, coastal, mangroves, coral Reefs and sea meadows. Fishermen are aware that cooperating with biodiversity turns into more sustainable and profitable fishery.

To prevent shrimp trawls and spearfishing with sophisticated weapons, a group of fishermen joined last year in order to create a Marine Protected Area. This MPA would become one of Nicoya Peninsula’s largest protected areas and cover 14 miles long. It ranges from “Playa de Caletas” North to “Camaronal Refuge.”A MPA protects marine habitats, ensures renewable ecosystems services and allows the fishermen to manage the area on a community base system. Also, ecotourism can bring alternative sources of income and responsible fishing certification will increase the global income.

Bejucos also want to adopt the best biodiversity management practices. Learning about the successful project of artificial reefs in Guatemala, Myriam, the chief of the village declares:

“Guatemalan fishermen saw their populations of snappers and lobsters doubled in less than 3 months. We want to build 10 to 15 artificial coral reefs out of concrete, to ensure costal fish reproduction. Inevitably, we have to make some research to determine the size and the location. Boats will also have to be contracted to deposit the reefs”. Myriam is aware about the magnitude of such a project, although she remains very skeptical about financing it without external help.

After each fishing session, brown pelicans and Urunus vultures are systematically fed with ovals. Fishermen live in harmony with their environment. Batteries used on net’s floating lamps at night are gathered and recycled to prevent soil and water contamination.

Traditional knowledge, cultural understandings of reciprocity and mutual respect with nature are transmitted from one generation to another.

On the pacific cost of Costa Rica, a unique island rests on the Nicoya Gulf; the Chira Island. This land mass of 4300 hectares contains the richest and most dense dries forest biodiversity of Costa Rica. Geologically, it is on the top hill of a mountain, circled by water since an earth geological fault happened. The island is in the heart of an estuary that forms a canal within a mangrove forest. These mangroves float, while preventing erosion and hosting diverse birds, crabs, mollusks, shrimps and fishes.

Chira Island is a refuge for 230 families who make a living out of fishery, agriculture and salt marsh. Salt marshes are famous for roseate spoonbills and other wading birds; long-legged birds that shallow water in search of food.

During the last decade, the fishermen of Palito had to face serious problems: overexploitation of marine resources, clandestine fishing in reproductive areas and water contamination.

With a strong will to protect their marine biodiversity, 32 fishermen joined to create the association ACOPESCA and protect their Recife. Strong determination and the help of international organizations made this dream come true. They now can benefit from their protected area called «Pescadores a la Cuerda Protegiendo el Arrecife de Palito en Isla de Chira».

The zone is limited with water buoys. At night, 2 to 3 fishermen traverse the zone to prevent any illegal fishing.

The Recife of Palito is one of Chira’s largest and provides the fishermen and people of Palito with shrimp, bar and chuchecas.

Artisanal fishing allows only three methods of fishing: trammel (a fishing net with three layers), trolling and hand lines.With an efficiently protected Recife, fishermen catch more abundant fish. They now raise their voice to promote traditional fishery as a noble way of life that contributes to biological conservation and coastal conservation.

With PRETOMA, they are preparing a sustainable fishery certification to communicate their commitment to control the fishery by considering the species interactions and their reproduction time. This certification will decrease one or two levels of intermediaries on the fish market, while also increasing the fishermen’s income with higher sale prices.

Randall Arauz, president of Pretoma 2010 Goldman Environmental Prize winner

© David Without Borders

Day 9, San José – The bus dropped us off at San José, the capital of Costa Rica. The first message we received was from a tico (this is a Costa Rican nickname for a native person). He told us to “watch out, the city is dangerous!’’

From this moment on, we encountered incredible unexpected meetings that eventually lead us to the local biodiversity hero we were hoping to meet; Randall Arauz, the 2010 Goldman Environmental Prize winner.

Our quest to encounter Costa Rican’s biodiversity initiatives began within the urban safari in San José’s streets. We could not help but notice the high security of each individual house that included the excessive use of barriers and bars on all of the windows, doors, garages, and roofs to prevent unauthorized entrances. Finding a house without high protection was like finding Waldo within the maze of anonymous archetypes.

While taking high precautions within the city, we approached the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) headquarters in Moravia. The building somehow seemed inaccessible, but the gates finally opened to us and revealed the key players of biodiversity conservation in Costa Rica. To encounter Lorena Aguilar, the global senior gender advisor of the IUCN, was a blessing.  Her foresight and initiatives violently shook us into a state of awakening like an earthquake; it made us realized how ignorant we were about the importance of emphasizing and promoting women’s actions in biodiversity worldwide.

Moreover, two days later we were fortunate to discuss with Pamela Gamboa, a pre-columbian Jade museum anthropologist who explained us the importance of animal representation for pre-columbian communities to communicate with the underworld. And finally, were received by and were able to obtain the collaboration of the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica through the National Focal Point of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Randall Arauz is an icon for marine biodiversity protection since he led the campaign to stop shark finning in Costa Rica and made his country the international model for shark protection. As a biologist, conservationist and activist, Randall Arauz is the president of Pretoma, a Non-Governmental Organization that promotes sustainable fishing and ocean resources conservation. His voice calls attention to the Costa Rican commercial, environmental, and tourism paradox. “Costa Rica,” he says, “is a pioneer for ecotourism and biodiversity conservation worldwide. While only being the size of Switzerland, Costa Rica contains 6% of the world’s biodiversity. People  who are passionate about nature visit from all over the world to see the beauty of Gaia. But, while promoting sustainable development, Costa Rica still remains the area where sharks are killed for their fins and illegal, destructive fishing of turtles and crayfish still happens.

Is Costa Rica defending its marine biodiversity and endangered species, or is this only an idealistic exterior? Is Costa Rica passively collaborating with fisheries bent on consumerism?

In order to further grasp the true nature of this predicament, we will ship with Randall Arauz to the Gulf of Nicoya. He will help us understand the key alternatives for ecosystem services renewal and promises to unveil them to us.

Fiesta del Tope, Playa Coco

© David Without Borders

Day 3, Liberia – After a one night of forced sleep on Toronto airport sloping chairs, 3 hours flight with nothing to eat (thanks American Airlines), a Germany – Argentina (4-0) world cup soccer game with a bad Wi-Fi connexion in Dallas airport terminal and a 2 hours stormy flight in continuous  “please keep your seat belt fasten, we are experiencing bad weather conditions” mode, we finally arrived in Costa Rica. The first impression is astounding: Nature is flamboyant and people are so warm. The difficult flight condition was finally worth it.

Our first destination is Liberia, in the North West of Costa Rica. Once installed in our humble but comfortable 8 m2 room with a view on the Hostel Guanacaste garden’s colibris, we notice that the air is incredibly wet here. July is part of Costa Rica green season (may to september). In other words, rain comes everyday with almost no exception around 2 PM. With that in mind, we decide to refrain our desire to recover on the beach in the afternoon and report the “farniente” to the next day. Fresh water, blue sky, mangroves, coconut juice.Tomorrow already feels like paradise.
After a creative production brainstorming (working on a beach is always more creative) and a delicious local lunch, we would meet our first surprise of the day. In the way back to the hostel, we decided to jump out the bus to enjoy a surprising horses parade at a peaceful village called Playa Coco. “Fiesta del Tope” says an old man with a grey collar beard when we ask him about the parade.

Here is the scene: On a wood stage specially built for this occasion, men and women ride their horses to create a beautiful original dance. The horse trots on the spot in cadence with the music played by a local orchestra. That perfect symbiosis between human and horse reminds us that men and animals are culturally linked in Costa Rica. For the Guanacastecos (the name that is given to the people of this region) of rural areas, horse is a respected and precious companion of tremendous help for daily transportations purposes. And it is far less expensive, more eco friendly and somewhat more efficient than a 4×4 to travel on the muddy paths and roads to reach the remote villages. The riders, fully aware of this wonderful gift given by nature, offer the biggest part of their fields to their horse to ensure animals feel as comfortable as humans.

What a wonderful introduction to our biodiversity world trip, isn’t it? And a good example of human-animal cooperation. Moreover, it also highlights the question of the role that humans can play within the biodiversity. We still have the choice of integrating nature in our lives instead of replacing it by noisy, dirty and inelegant machines (Who can claim having a car dance on the vibes of folkloric music?).

François Paradis hosts David Aimé and David Fabrega on TVA Live channel (Quebec, Canada) to introduce the David Without Borders Expedition.