The following are profiles of individuals working with different LMMA Network projects around the region. Please bear in mind that these are only SOME of the MANY people who are part of the Network. We would like to acknowledge and thank ALL of our members, and look forward to seeing more profiles on other individuals appear in these pages in the near future. 

 Wayne Andrew, Palau

Photo by Paul Homar

Originally from the island of Hatohobei in the southwest Islands of Palau, Wayne has a background in architecture and carpentry, and has worked as a schoolteacher in Palau’s capital of Koror. He is now the Deputy Manager for the Helen Reef Resource Management Project. Initiated in 1998, the Helen Reef Project oversees the Helen Reef Protected Area, which traditionally belongs to the people of Hatohobei State. This logistically difficult marine conservation project has developed into a full-fledged state program, with supporting management legislation and eight staff. The program includes a surveillance and deterrence program, scientific and community resource monitoring, education and awareness outreach, and exploration of sustainable use and financing activities. Wayne works with the state-appointed volunteer management board to carry out these activities. In addition to his many responsibilities, Wayne is working to bridge the communication gap between the local community and partner agencies at the local, national and international level. 

Ruperto Apilado, Philippines

Photo by Toni Parras

Ruperto, or "Ka Raffy," is from Sinabacan in the municipality of Candelaria on the west coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines. An engineer by training and former communications technician for Voice of America, Ka Raffy also served on the parent-teacher’s association for the local school and is very active in community affairs. He is Chairman of the Candelaria Bantay Dagat (Fish Wardens) and President of the Sinabacan Fishermen‘s Association (SFA) in Candelaria. In addition to his municipal leadership roles, Ka Raffy is also heavily involved at the provincial level, as Chairman of Pampangisdaang Reforma Samahan ng Mangingisda ng Zambales (PRSMZ, which is the federation of fisherfolks for Zambales Province) and Chairman of Pampangisdaang Lokal ng Zambales (PALOZ, which is under the provincial Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council, or FARMC). Although not a fisherman by profession, Ka Raffy has a background in fishponds (he has one in his backyard), and has concern for the welfare of his community and its resources. He continues to work hard to lobby for legislation protecting Candelaria’s marine habitat and resources. 

Gemma Gades, Philippines

Photo by Daisy Flores-Salgado

"Ka" Gemma, is a mother and active leader of a local fisherfolk group protecting Hinatuan Bay in the southern Philippines. She has been the President of the community organization "Ladies in United Movement Onward to Development" (LUMOT) since 1999, and of the municipal-level "Nagkahiusang Mangingisda sa Hinatuan" (NAMAHIN) since 2000, both of which strive to address issues surrounding the bay. Ka Gemma patrols the bay’s eight protected areas together with local fish wardens and works with other organizations to provide training and outreach to community members about protecting their coastal resources. Read more about Gemma and Hinatuan Bay

Didik Kassas, Papua New Guinea

Photo by Daisy Flores-Salgado

Didik is from Riwo Village, situated along coast of Madang Lagoon in Papua New Guinea. He has been actively involved in marine resource conservation in his community for more than seven years. A carpenter and boatman by trade, Didik works with both WWF-Madang and Wetlands International-Oceania representatives to raise awareness in communities about the Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in Madang Lagoon. Trained in Reef Check monitoring methods, Didik also works with monitoring teams to perform coral reef and fish surveys inside the protected areas. Didik is a WMA committee member for his own clan’s Tabad Island WMA.  Read more about Madang Lagoon 

Photo by Aaron Jenkins

Paul is from Riwo Village, located along the coast of Madang Lagoon in Papua New Guinea. Trained as a parataxonomist, Paul has more than 10 years experience in scientific monitoring, and is now nationally recognized as a leader in coral reef and fish monitoring. He has also acted as a "trainer of trainers," teaching monitoring methods to conservation practitioners in Fiji. Paul is also very experienced in freshwater and estuarine survey work and has assisted in the discovery of several new fish species for Papua New Guinea. Paul has been instrumental in the establishment of the Madang LMMA Network, is a committee member of the Laugum WMA and has surveyed many of the marine and freshwater WMAs in PNG. Paul has around 3500 hours of logged diving time, almost all of which has been in the course of survey work.  Read more about Madang Lagoon  Paul, together with a fellow community member, Francis Wadui, received a WWF award in 2005 Read more about WWF award   

Samuel Mansmor, Indonesia

Photo by Cliff Marlessy

A former policeman and winner of the prestigious 2004 Kalpataru environmental award, Samuel Mansmor works to teach community members about the importance of protecting their environment and resources. Read more about Samuel. 

Photo by Toni Parras

Sally is from Yamot, Candelaria in Zambales on the west coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines. As a deputized member of the Bantay Dagat (Fish Wardens), she monitors to see who is actively fishing in the municipal waters and assists with registering all fishing boats as required by law. She also helps explore alternative livelihoods for fishers. Sally is also Chairperson of the municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (FARMC) and a member of the Regional Council of Leaders. Her efforts and dedication to protect the marine environment are "for the sake of nature, and for future generations, so that they will have something left of the natural world."

Photo by Toni Parras

Tamlong lives in Siar Village, located along the inner coast of Madang Lagoon, Papua New Guinea, and is an active leader in the community. Concerned with the dynamite fishing in the lagoon, Tamlong has written several letters to the Member of Parliament requesting action, and - together with his clan - declared the waters around Tab Island, of which his clan are the traditional owners, as a Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Tamlong is Chairman of Tab WMA management committee. He is also very active in local politics as a social activist and is in the process of registering the community-based Madang Lagoon Association as a vehicle for community activism and championing environmental health. Read more about Tamlong and Madang Lagoon

Photo by Toni Parras

Alifereti grew up in the rural coastal village of Daku in Kadavu, a small outer island in Fiji. Growing up, he remembers his grandfather going out to the nearby reef and bringing home enough fish for his extended family in just a short time. Over the years, Alifereti noticed that his grandfather would go fishing for the whole night and come back with catches that were no longer enough to meet the family needs. During that time (late 1980s), others were experiencing similar hardships throughout Fiji; fishing activities had become very expensive and time-consuming. People preferred buying tinned meat rather than going out fishing. Alifereti began to wonder "what will happen 10-30 years from now if nothing is done to address the root cause of these hardships?" He wanted to learn ways to address the deterioration of his rural way of life. He became involved with the Fiji Locally-Managed Marine Area (FLMMA) Network, whose mission statement is "Everlasting Marine Resources for our Descendants." After acting as coordinator of FLMMA for several years, Alifereti is now a Project Manager at the Institute of Applied Science at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji. He works to bring together community members, conservation practitioners, researchers, and government officials using participatory techniques to establish protected areas to help conserve dwindling marine resources. Alifereti hopes that through this work, the hardships and the traumatic experience that his family went through will become a thing of the past. Read more about Alifereti on our News page.

Photo by Toni Parras

Gilbert lives in Bingag, a village located on the northwest coast of Panglao Island, Bohol in the Philippines. Gilbert is President of the Bingag Barangay Fish Wardens and Monitoring Team, and Chairman of the Dauis Municipal Fish Wardens. Having been trained in fish and coral monitoring by Silliman University Marine Lab (SUML), Gilbert and his monitoring team are highly skilled in performing reef and fish surveys inside and outside their protected area to determine how well resources are recovering. Gilbert’s enthusiastic nature and advanced proficiency not only made an impression on a UNDP evaluator who came to visit the project, but also inspires others around him in their work toward marine protection and conservation.  Read more about Gilbert and the Bingag Marine Sanctuary 

Silverio Wale, Solomon Islands
 

Photo by Toni Parras

Silverio comes from Radesifolame, in Langa Langa Lagoon, Malaita Province in the Solomon Islands. For the last ten years he has been working on community development projects focusing on forest/land conservation, resources management and implementing sustainable livelihood enterprises as alternative income within the conservation areas. His successful enterprise projects include Warihito ngali nut oil project in Makira province, Hauta eco-tourism project, and Ranoga coconut oil project.

A strong believer in conservation, Silverio has worked to instill this tenet in the coastal communities of his home of Langa Langa Lagoon, which has been threatened by dynamite fishing and overharvesting. In 1998, 1999, and 2000, people from Langa Langa Lagoon were forced to leave Honiara due to the tension between Gaudalcanal and Malaitan's created by these activities. During this time, Silverio, working with the Solomon Islands Development Trust (SIDT), conducted a series of marine resource management workshops for communities who have shown interest in establishing tambu – protected – areas for certain resources such as clams, fish, beche de mer (sea cucumber), Ke"e and Romu for shell money. Through this awareness-raising effort, both the communities and SIDT realized the great need to combat these problems, and a plan was formulated for Langa Langa Lagoon, making it part of the Community and Coasts Programme carried out by the Foundation for the South Pacific International (FSPI) and SIDT. The Community and Coasts Programme also includes the nearby villages of Gela and Marau.

Silverio was previously Conservation Manager for Central Bauro Conservation Programme in Makira Prvince Solomon Islands, a joint effort between Conservation International US, Maruia Society, New Zealand, and SIDT. Later, he was Policy and Advocacy/Sustainable Livelihood Coordinator of the World Wide Fund for Nature and Conservancy Solomon Islands. He is now the Coordinator for the Community and Coasts Programme, and the in-county LMMA Network Coordinator for Solomon Islands. He works to foster successful community participation in marine conservation activities and to increase the number tambu areas in the Solomon Islands.