Update of first semester of 2019

This is Kiluan Bay (Lampung, Sumatra). Gorgeous beyond words...

Justin my new friend kindly advised me to update my blog (“cos it’s awesome!”), so I blushingly agreed. Thank you for the reminder!

So here it is: I’ve been updating a subject on policy analysis at the James Cook University to be taken to masters level for next semester. (“oh, you do policy, Icha?” Apparently, I do… particularly when you think that environmental issues are not going to solve themselves without proper policies in place!).

In March, CETASI (Cetacean Sirenian Indonesia) received some funding from the Conservation Strategy Fund (thank you, CSF!) for conducting an economic study of dolphin watching in Kiluan (Lampung, Sumatra). The project is titled “Dolphin-watching tourism as an alternative or supplemental livelihood to marginalised artisanal fishers in Indonesia". This project will explore whether dolphin-watching tourism can generate direct or indirect employment that provides a sustainable income equal or superior to a fisheries income. The CSF grant established myself as one of the 2019-2020 Indonesia Marine Fellows of the Conservation Strategy Fund.

The US National Marine Animal Health and Stranding Response Conference (September 2016)

The Indonesian country update poster

The US National Marine Animal Health and Stranding Response Conference that I attended in early September (6-9 Sept 2016) was not the first of its kind that I attended at a national level, but it was certainly the most impressive one. My sincere thanks to International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) for their generous contributions so that I could attend this event, and for NOAA for extending the invitation to me.

The conference enabled me to learn many things to apply to Indonesia’s own national marine mammal stranding network. The followings are lessons I learned during some sessions of the conference. Granted, I couldn’t attend all sessions as much as I wanted to. For instance, given my limited medical/veterinarian knowledge, I only attended some veterinary sessions that my Indonesian vet colleagues would have not missed for the world. However, what I’ve learned from the sessions I did attend was a treasure. The followings are things that I learned the most during the conference, not necessarily in the order of magnitude nor importance. 

New Year notes for the past semester

A Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni) we encountered off the Uluwatu Temple, Bali, November 2015

Since this is the last day of the year, I thought I’ll just write myself some pointers of what I did during the second semester of 2015. Starting with July-August where my colleagues and I were trying to set up CETASI, real pain in the admin. I have to credit Yanti Purnomo as the star in navigating the bureaucratic waters in Indonesia, but Adityo Setiawan, Jaya Ratha and Erdi Lazuardi also provided tremendous support.

August saw me returning to Bali for the Cetacean National Plan of Action (NPOA) meeting. It was a productive meeting; I assisted WWF Indonesia and the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries to build up the early version of the document. So far, the document includes issues such as bycatch, tourism, seismic and acoustic, ocean noise, alternative livelihood, captivity and Marine Mammal Protected Areas. Kudos to Sarminto Hadi, Miasto Yudha and team for pulling off the meeting. We also had our first stranding training workshop for the expatriates in Bali at Seminyak with Whale Stranding Indonesia and Soul Surf Project Bali. Well, not just for the expats, for we also had local participants (and a girl flying from Sabah Malaysia just for this training!), but it was definitely the first English-speaking training that I delivered, and I actually enjoyed it. The CETASI also had our first annual meeting (at my father’s place in Bali, actually), and we carry with us a list of homework to be done... which hasn’t all been done...(palm/face).

2013 End of Year Note

Myself (3rd from left) and my working group during the IUCN Red List Assessment Training (Aug'13)

This year seems to be passing by in lightning speed to me. I started it as an independent researcher, determined to get back to being a cetologist after more than a year’s dabbling in another conservation field (which proved to be a good learning experience). I remember most of the details vividly, and I am grateful for most, if not all, of the experience I have had in 2013 as a cetologist and marine tourism analyst.  Here, I’d like to share it all with you, but particularly with myself, as a reminder that dreams do come true when you mean it. 

From a timid beginning (almost a month of void transition, not sure of the first step I should do as a full-time cetologist), I had a massive jump-start when I was invited to the 1^st Southeast Asian Marine Mammal Stranding Network Symposium and the Marine Mammal Stranding Response Workshop in Subic Bay in the Philippines (4-9 February 2013). I was reunited with Yanti Purnomo, Sekar Mira, Danielle Kreb and Efin Muttaqin. I was also reunited with Lindsay Porter and met for the first time in my life Grant Abel and Nimal Fernando from Ocean Park Hong Kong (the three of them were to be very instrumental in my developing the Indonesian stranding network). Most importantly, I learned for the first time the proper ways of conducting stranding rescue and the importance of veterinary science and necropsy in stranding management.

1st National Marine Mammal Stranding Training Workshop (Bali, 25-28 November 2013)

The 1st National Marine Mammal Stranding Training Workshop for Indonesia will be conducted in Sanur, Bali on 25-28 November 2013. The training programme is organised by the Indonesian Biodiversity Research Center, Ocean Park Hong Kong and the University of St Andrews Scotland, endorsed by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia and supported by Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong, the South East Asian Marine Mammal Stranding Network, World Wildlife Fund Indonesia and the International Whaling Commission.

The workshop will be conducted in English (with Indonesian translation), for participants from Indonesia and the Asian region.   Day One will be dedicated to 1st responder training, which will train people how to rescue live stranded marine mammals. The remaining days of the workshop will focus on the veterinary aspects and fishing gear entanglement aspect of stranding events. Hands-on necropsy demo is optional upon the availability of a Code 2 carcass (fresh dead).

Registration will be open from 1st August 2013. Funding for some participants is available (details tba). For further information, contact Putu Liza Mustika (‘Icha’) at putu.liza@my.jcu.edu.au or +62 821 4755 2611.


Update 6 August 2013:
Click this for the November workshop updates (including possible necropsy demo)

Lokalatih Nasional Mamalia Laut Terdampar I Indonesia (Bali, 25-28 November 2013)

Lokalatih Nasional Mamalia Laut Terdampar I di Indonesia akan dilaksanakan di Sanur, Bali pada tanggal 25-28 November 2013. Program pelatihan ini diorganisir oleh Indonesian Biodiversity Research Center, Ocean Park Hong Kong dan University of St Andrews Scotland. Program ini didukung oleh Kementrian Kelautan dan Perikanan Indonesia, Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong, South East Asian Marine Mammal Stranding Network, WWF Indonesia dan International Whaling Commission.

Bahasa pengantar pada lokalatih ini adalah bahasa Inggris dengan terjemahan. Peserta berasal dari Indonesia dan kawasan Asia. Hari pertama adalah tentang pelatihan 1^st responder (penanggap pertama), yaitu bagaimana menyelamatkan mamalia laut yang terdampar hidup. Hari kedua-keempat akan dititikberatkan pada aspek kedokteran hewan dan kejadian terjerat alat tangkap. Praktikum nekropsi akan dilakukan jika ada karkas Kode 2 (mati segar).

Registrasi akan dibuka dari tgl 1 Agustus 2013. Ada kemungkinan pendanaan untuk beberapa peserta (informasi menyusul). Untuk informasi lebih lanjut, silakan kontak Putu Liza Mustika (‘Icha’) di putu.liza@my.jcu.edu.au atau +62 821 4755 2611.

Jakarta Expat article

It's been a busy April, such that I haven't got time to post an article. But all is for the better good, for we are going to hold a stranding workshop and training on 1-2 May in Sanur Bali. 'We' as in the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Conservation International (including myself), WWF and a bunch of other cool stakeholders. Will definitely post the news and photographs after the event is done. 

Meanwhile, if you have time (or just being curious), you can have a read at Grace Susetyo's interview of myself at the Jakarta Expat about the cetaceans in Indonesia. Click here or 'read more'  to read the whole article.

Caring for the Sentinels of the Deep
by Grace Susetyo

Much of Indonesia’s seas are being “watched over” by friendly creatures whose underwater singing and dancing never cease to melt the human heart: some 30 species of cetaceans (whales and dolphins). North Bali’s whale watching industry is reported to generate about US$4.1 million per year, or about 40% of the incomes of local hotels in Lovina. But despite Indonesia’s millions of square-kilometres of territorial waters, cetacean conservation has hardly been on top of Indonesia’s agenda.

The 3rd Southeast Asian Marine Mammal Symposium (and the importance of having a group to call your own)

Participants of the 3rd SEAMAM symposium in Langkawi (pic by Suwat Jutapruet)

I’m a cetologist, and I’m proud of what I’m doing for a living. However, I do have to say that getting funding for mainly marine mammal works is not always straightforward. Nowadays, I still have to do other works (still inside the compound of marine conservation) to stabilise my micro-finance, while also getting $$ for the cetacean works I always want to do. Often, I felt lonely and a bit desperate because of that. I’m one of Indonesia’s very few cetologists, but expanding this ‘business’ seems to be a very hard endeavour. With the dimming ‘glamour’ of species-based conservation since the last decade and the shifting towards ecosystem-based management (EBM), experts on migratory mega fauna species around the world are striving to fit their species of interest into the whole EBM scheme. Whether attaching it to Marine Protected Area, fisheries, climate change issues, etc, anything that will make the conservation of migratory mega fauna species still making sense in the EBM era.  It can work... but really, I cannot say it has been a stroll in the park. 

Most of the time, I felt like doing this all alone. Yes, I do have some friends scattered around Indonesia (in the Marine Mammal Indonesia mailing list we created in 2004), but our conversations have been up and down (which means that I didn’t do my job as the moderator properly). I do connect with them, and I do share similar dreams with them.  But I still couldn't shake off the feeling of doing this alone without any significant support from outside world.

‘Thank God’ for the 48 short finned pilot whales that stranded in Sabu in October last year. I know, it sounds awful and I don’t mean it that way. What I meant is that finally the government realised the importance of pushing forward marine mammal conservation, by way of stranding management. I started to join the national discussions on stranding protocols last December, and started to feel like I can really use my brain for the animals I love the most: the whales and the dolphins.  

Going to Subic Bay (Philippines) last month (4-9 Feb) to learn about stranding management was another refreshing change. I met many passionate stranding rescuers and veterinarians from at least seven countries (Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, China Mainland and HK, Malaysia and Cambodia). I had a lot of discussions about how to improve the Indonesia stranding network with my fellow Indonesian delegates (Sekar Mira, Februanty Purnomo, Efin Muttaqin, and Danielle Kreb – who is a Dutch lady, but might as well a local with her Samarinda accent!). Subsequently, I then became a part of the committee to form/organise the SE Asian stranding network.  I started to feel like I’m part of something bigger than my own fear (of not being able to be a full time cetologist). 

My PhD research at the plenary of ICRS 2012

I was very lucky to have attended the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium last July. I went in my capacity as a Conservation International Indonesia staff. There, I had a rare and very precious opportunity to have my PhD research in Lovina featured in one of the plenary sessions. I wasn't the speaker - no, my journey is still looong and (perhaps, hopefully not) winding before I ever get to that stage (if ever!). The gratitude goes to Prof Helene Marsh for including several of my exit seminar slides in the morning plenary session of Thursday, 12 July 2012. Her talk was titled 'Conserving Coral Reef Megafauna: Issues of Ecological Process, Biodiversity, Cultural Diversity and Food Security'. It was a very interesting talk that featured not only the Lovina dolphins, but also the governance of the Great Barrier Reef's dwarf minke whales (Sobtzick et al.), the economics of Palau sharks (Vianna et al.), and the dugongs of Torres Strait (Grech et al.), among others. Click here for Helene's talk.

Scroll the main menu of the ICRS 2012 to see a collection of PPT presentations of plenary talks. I suggest you also see Prof Geoffrey Jones' presentation of Nemo's journey (yes, that cute anemonefish!) throughout several reef clusters at Kimbe Bay in Papua New Guinea. His talk was aptly titled 'Mission Impossible: Unlocking the secrets of where coral reef fish babies go', and it got me glued to the end. Click here for Geoff's talk.