| Fair Trade with a Difference |
| Thursday, 10 May 2007 | |
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This summer a group of eight students from the University of Cambridge will be flying to locations such as Indonesia, Honduras and South Africa, where they will employ skills learned in their degrees in a conservation project as part of Operation Wallacea, a series of biological and social science expedition projects. They will be joining scientists from around the world to monitor biodiversity, and to carry out a number of research projects on the unique flora and fauna in these specially identified locations. However, there are many difficulties to overcome in protecting these regions of special natural interest. For example, in the Lambusango forest on the Indonesian island of Buton, poaching and logging by local people presents a serious threat to the many animal and plant species native to the region. The Indonesian site is known as the Wallacea region after Alfred Russel Wallace, co-author with Charles Darwin, of the first paper on the theory of evolution by natural selection. It was the site of the first Operation Wallacea expeditions in 1995, and where the organisation took its name from. A report from The Operation Wallacea Trust has made the case for protecting the forest, stating that “The region has remained isolated from the Asian and Australasian continents even when the sea levels dropped during the last ice age.... The long period of isolation has produced many unique species to this region.” The area has the largest number of endemic bird species of any region of similar size in the world, as well as boasting its status as the only forest that is home to 21 unique vertebrate species. The Operation Wallacea Trust is a charity that supports activities contributing to conservation in areas where Operation Wallacea is working, chaired by Cambridge graduate the Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP. The Trust has come up with a solution to some of the problems that Operation Wallacea faces in Indonesia, which is the first of its kind. They call it “Fair Trade Plus”, a scheme offering fair prices for goods, but with the added dimension of wildlife conservation.  The principle underlying this scheme is that the best people to manage an area are those who live closest to it. Hence, the best way to promote conservation is to make sure the local communities have financial incentives for taking part and ensuring the preservation of their natural environments. This has led to the development of a system that will culminate in the marketing of a new kind of fairly-traded product. In traditional Fair Trade schemes already in operation, there is no link between the purchase of products from the community and that community’s impact on the conservation. In the Cusuco National Park, another area in which Operation Wallacea is working, only the community most involved in illegal hunting and logging is currently receiving fair trade prices, and it is hoped that the Fair Trade Plus scheme will change this.  In order to enter the new scheme and get higher prices for their crops (mainly cashews), villages near the Lambusango forest must sign a contract under which every village member is obliged to refrain from hunting and logging. Inclusion in the scheme is dependent upon continued monitoring and co-operation by all members of the community. Alison Darlington from the Operation Wallacea offices in the UK said, “Distribution of the Fair Trade Plus products is still in the preliminary stages. We do hope to have things rolling sometime this year. Our plan is to sell through the National Union of Students and a couple of other outlets.” Although not yet available, it is hoped that concerned groups such as students will be prepared to pay a higher price for these products, and the Trust says they will “have the satisfaction that they are not only providing substantial income to local communities but are also directly contributing to the conservation of these important forests.” The students leaving this summer are currently busy raising the money they will require for flights, training and equipment. Amongst their fund-raising activities are a pub quiz, a corporate dinner, an auction and a charity night in a local nightclub. The group members are nervous but are eagerly anticipating their expeditions. Fiona Pearce, one of the Cambridge volunteers said, “It is quite scary, but it’s the experience of a lifetime. I am really looking forward to living with local people on the site. I’m working on Buton macaques, which are unique to the island but threatened because they steal the local crops.” The Cambridge student body will be wishing them luck come July, no doubt a lot will be accomplished in these regions of scientific importance and natural beauty by their efforts with Operation Wallacea. |
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