Conservation has to pay

I (Matt) woke up early this morning in Mombasa Kenya – at a hotel on the beach. I was there for the West Indian Ocean Marine Science Association bi-annual meeting. (good stuff trust me). I decided to go for a walk on the beach.  It was high tide and I met an old man who was picking up trash on the beach.  He greeted me and walked along side me.  His English was impeccable and I realized quickly he had a wealth of information about this beach – so I decided to walk and talk with him as he picked up plastic trash. I asked him why he was picking up plastic bottle caps, bags and other plastic trash and he said “if we use so much plastic we will become plastic”.  “Rich people buy food in plastic and it all ends up here on the beach. It’s not nice. It is ruining our environment.”

Jina langu Eunus. (My name is Eunus) He wore only a pair of black shorts. no shirt, no shoes. As we walked he pointed out all the fancy beach houses – one owned by former President Moi, one owned by current president Kibaki, one owned by the Aga Kahn, others owned by less notorious rich people.  He showed me shells, eggs, talked about the river that flowed across the beach and he even talked to me about fishing gear – what was legal, what was not, and how much abuse of the system there was.  He described how the number of fish caught per fishing effort had decreased since he was a boy. Turns out he is a fisherman as well.  This guy was the beach history book. 

It was a beautiful beach and Eunus was a steward – an unintentional conservationist.  A guy who cared passionately about this coast because his family depended on it’s fish for survival.

So why was he picking up the trash?  Did he care that much? I asked him if he was getting paid to pick up the trash and he said, “No, I can sell the plastic in town for a little money.” 

I am fascinated by the economics of conservation – it has to pay to work.  Trying to change attitudes is not enough – it has to bring benefit. The conservation activities that create or are supported by business will endure and will show results.  Take my friend Eunus – he is an entrepreneur.  He is a conservationist. He is a fisherman.  He is a plastics recycler entrepreneur conservationist fisherman.  And sure, he believes picking up plastic is the right thing to do for the health of the beach.  But would he do it everyday if he did not get a small cash payment for his plastic treasure?