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Seacology is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization headquartered in Berkeley, California that focuses on preserving island ecosystems and cultures around the world. Founded in 1991, it began with the work of ethnobotanist Paul Alan Cox, who researched tropical plants and their medicinal value in the village of Falealupo in Samoa during the mid-1980s. When the villagers were pressured into selling logging rights to their rainforest in 1988 to build a new school, Cox and his wife offered to help secure funds for the new school in return for an agreement with the villagers to protect their forest. With the help of his friends and family, Cox secured the funds within six months, later earning him and the village chief, Fuiono Senio, the Goldman Environmental Prize for their efforts. Word spread throughout the islands, and with increasing demand for similar projects, Cox, along with Bill Marré and Ken Murdock, decided to form Seacology and expand their work internationally. For the first few years, the organization operated on a volunteer basis. Duane Silverstein became the first employee in 1999, and headquarters were relocated to Berkeley, not far from his residence. Because of the high risk of extinction for island fauna and the decline in coral reef ecosystems, Seacology operates by focusing on projects that require local villages to sign contracts under which they agree to help protect either terrestrial or marine habitat for a specified time in return for new buildings or services. The operations are low-cost, averaging around US$20,000 to $25,000. Construction is done with local labor and without the use of machinery. Seacology selects its projects by reviewing the recommendations of its field representatives and its scientific advisory board. By 2010, Seacology had initiated 200 projects globally, and helped preserve of marine habitat and of terrestrial habitat. At the same time, they had helped construct 104 new facilities and provided 36 programs, which included educational materials, vital medical services, and environmental training. In addition to helping local people on islands like Fiji, Kendhoo, and many others, their projects have helped protect mangrove forests, sea turtles, marine mammals called dugongs, and one of the rarest primates in the world: the Hainan black crested gibbon. Seacology also awards its annual Seacology Prize to indigenous islanders for their efforts in conservation and cultural preservation. The organization helps support island communities by fostering ecotourism, and has helped raise emergency funds following destructive tsunamis. It performs all of these tasks on a modest budget, while also saving money by not compensating its board members. It has won awards from Yahoo! and ''Travel + Leisure'' magazine, and has been featured in the music video "What About Now" by the American rock band Daughtry. In 2015, the organization launched its largest project to date, partnering with Sri Lanka-based NGO Sudeesa (formerly the Small Fishers Federation of Lanka), to protect all of that nation's mangrove habitats〔http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32683798〕. ==History== Seacology was founded in 1991 by ethnobotanist Paul Alan Cox in Hawaii using prize money and consulting fees resulting from his efforts to preserve of rainforest outside the village of Falealupo on the island of Savai'i in Samoa. He later recorded these events in his book, ''Nafanua: Saving the Samoan Rain Forest''. Cox began his work in Samoa in 1973 during his first Mormon missionary service, at which time he learned from local people about the medicinal properties of the native plants. After working with local communities in other rainforests, Cox returned to Samoa in 1984 with his family. His aim was to find a cure for cancer, which had claimed the life of his mother earlier that year. In return for the help of the local healers (called ''fofo''), Cox offered to share the revenue generated by his research with the local villages. Over time, his research identified five new drugs, including the therapeutic agent prostratin, a potential treatment for HIV. Prostratin was isolated in a concoction made from the bark of the local mamala tree (''Homalanthus nutans'') and shared with him by a healer named Epenesa Mauigoa, who used it to treat hepatitis. Cox set up royalty agreements to ensure that the Samoans will share in the revenue. In 1988, his research was threatened when the Samoan government pressured the village of Falealupo to pay US$65,000 for a new school, warning that if the village did not provide a new school within a year, they would withdraw the teachers from the village, leaving the children without an opportunity for a formal education. Shortly after receiving this notice from government, a foreign-owned logging company offered the village exactly US$65,000 to log the entire surrounding Falealupo. Lacking a source of revenue, the villages eventually sold the logging rights to the forest, but when Cox learned of the situation and witnessed the logging for himself, he immediately sought an explanation from the village elders and then requested that they halt the logging so that he could raise money for the school. Despite initial skepticism, Cox convinced the high chief, Fuiono Senio, who then helped persuade the rest of the elders. Senio then drew his machete and raced to halt the logging. The new school was built after Cox and his wife, Barbara, were able to raise the money in six months partly by mortgaging their house. Cox also obtained financial support from others and took over payments on the mortgage for the school. Verne Read, a businessman and financial supporter of Bat Conservation International, took over payments on the mortgage for the school. Ken Murdock, founder of the herbal company Nature's Way, and Rex Maughan, owner of Forever Living Products, funded the construction of the school and repaid the loggers for their US$20,000 advance. During a tribal ceremony held in February 1989, Cox, along with the village chiefs (''matai'') signed the "The Falealupo Covenant," which legally protected the forest for 50 years in exchange for their help. During the ceremony, the village chiefs also bestowed chief's titles on Murdock and Maughan and proclaimed that Cox was a reincarnation of their god, Nafanua, because like Nafanua, he did not come from Samoa and both had fought to protect the village and the forest. The title bestowed upon him made Cox responsible for the well-being of the village and obligated that he return to visit. In 1992, Cox and his friends had finished helping the Samoan villagers at Falealupo, as well as nearby Tafua, which encountered the same problem. Prior to that, Murdock, who later became Seacology's President, suggested continuing their work by seeking out more villages with which they could exchange projects for marine and forest reserves. As demand among island villages grew, Bill Marré, a business consultant and executive coach who later became a member of the Board of Trustees and the Chairman's Advisory Council, suggested establishing a nonprofit organization to continue their work. He suggested the name "Seacology" to reflect the organization's focus on island conservation, and helped cofound the nonprofit in 1991, along with Cox and Murdock. Using his own funds, Marré paid the costs of starting the organization and covered its administrative costs for the first three years. Together with his assistant, Marré helped advertise Seacology by giving lectures at schools and universities, visiting other island nations, and writing articles about the work for the local media. In Falealupo, Seacology continued their work, funding projects with a total of US$485,000 as of 2005. When cyclone Ofa destroyed the primary school at Falealupo in 1990, Seacology helped raise funds to rebuild it. The school was completely rebuilt again in 1991 following Cyclone Val. Several years after completing the school, the organization helped establish trails and build a rainforest information center, followed in 1997 by an elevated canopy walkway as part of an ecotourism project to help generate income for the people and provide funds for a retirement system for the village elders. The walkway has since become one of Samoa's leading tourist attractions, and was yielding an average of US$1,000 each month for the community in 2001—bringing in more money than the villagers would have earned from selling their forest. Satisfied with the results, the villagers at Falealupo declared that they would honor the contract they had made with Cox to protect the forest forever, rather than just 50 years. In 1997, both Cox and Senio, the village chief, shared the Goldman Environmental Prize for their work. For the first six years of its existence, Seacology operated as a volunteer organization with no employees. Four years after being founded, Seacology's administrative office moved to Ken Murdock's office. The office moved again in 1999 to Berkeley, California after Cox offered a job to Duane Silverstein—then the Executive Director of the Goldman Fund, which had previously honored Cox with the Goldman Environmental Prize. Silverstein had been inspired by the work Cox had done in Samoa, and agreed to take the position of Executive Director of Seacology under the condition that the office be relocated to within walking distance of his house. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Seacology」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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