Interview with with Crystal Vance and Anuar Romero - Diving With a Purpose

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Interview with with Crystal Vance and Anuar Romero

Home > Interview with with Crystal Vance and Anuar Romero

Interview with “Green Island Challenge” with Crystal Vance and Anuar Romero

Redacted and translated by Anumi Sassaroli Oriana

 

1. Could you share a bit about your backgrounds? Where were you born and raised?

Anuar Romero, one of the cofounders of the Green Island Challenge, shares a little more about his backgrounds and he explains to us how his whole life has revolved around the environment, and the conservation of it. He says: “I grew up on the Honduran Caribbean coast in the city of La Ceiba. I did my studies there and then completed my university education at the Autonomous University of Honduras in Forestal Engineering.” He spent 6 years of his life restoring mangroves with a Srilankis professor, that was a part of his formation in costal marine resources. Anuar explains: “This is what led me to the island of Roatán, to be in charge of a United Nations Project, with the National Found, to take care of nature. And we led this project for the three mayor island of the bay: “Roatan, Utila and Guanaja” and the three minor ones: “Saint Helene, Barbarat and Morat”. Therefore my last 10 years I’ve been working specifically on costal marine resources.”

Crystal Vance, also partner and co-founder of the Green Island challenge shares her story. Born and raised in Chicago, with a Mexican mother and American father. Crystal explains a little more about her educational background: “I am a trained historian, focusing on the history of Latin America, which led me to La Ceiba, a coastal city in Honduras, where I focused on the impact of development on the environment. That’s how I ended up here. As a historian, I worked as a journalist and then went to grad school to continue my focus on development and displacement in Honduras. Once I graduated, I got a job in Roatán in environmental education, because they needed someone who understood the context, not just the environmental aspect, in order to connect with the community and youth of the island. That’s how I connected my knowledge as a historian with the topic of conservation.” Crystal Vance has her undergraduate degree from Brown University in Africana Studies and Latin American Studies, then two master’s degrees from the Autonomous University of Mexico and the University of Chicago, Latin American studies and Social sciences.

2. How did the Green Island Challenge come to be? What inspired its inception?

Crystal explains some of the history, noting that Anuar’s work with Dr. Susan Hendrickson, an underwater archaeologist and paleontologist, was key. Dr. Hendrickson asked Anuar to document the birds of Guanaja Island. Following this study, she became very interested in Mr. Romero’s work and expressed her desire to create a conservation project on Guanaja. At that time, Crystal and Anuar were already a couple, so they both met with Dr. Hendrickson to create the “Green Island  Challenge.”
Crystal shares that they are actually fulfilling Susan’s dream. She says, “She always had the idea of protecting Guanaja Island. She came in the 1960s and fell in love with it—its reefs, its mountains, and the challenges they face.” Crystal explains that they are carrying her torch, taking her ideas, and pursuing the lifelong goal she dedicated herself to: conservation and environmental issues. They are realizing her dream of a green island where opportunities exist for the youth, where ecological resources are protected, and where a connection with the environment is respected. Anuar chose the organization’s name, inspired by a previous project he worked on for the United Nations called ‘Guana the Green Island,’ which led to the continuation: “Green Island Challenge.”

3. What are the primary goals and focuses of the Green Island Challenge?

For this question, Crystal explains that Green Island Challenge has two main commitments: the environment and the community.
The first environmental project Green Island Challenge undertook was the repopulation and stabilization of a subspecies of parrots endemic to the Bay Islands, especially Guanaja Island. Crystal explains, “When we arrived, there were only 323 wild parrots on the entire island.” This was clearly a very low population, so the organization asked itself: How can we increase the parrot population? They achieved this by implementing additional nests or supplemental nests in the trees. “The goal was to reach at least a thousand parrots, and we achieved that in just three years.” It is the most successful project of its kind in Latin America, recovering the population in a short period. Additionally, in line with the organization’s environmental protection efforts, they focus on turtle protection, monitoring beaches to prevent the ongoing practice of egg poaching. Hurricane Mitch in 1998 devastated much of the island, especially destroying all the wetlands. In the North East Bay area, they have a one-hectare demonstration site where they have worked with local youth to restore the hydrological system, which helps in the restoration of mangroves. On an island where the main stressors are the northeast winds, this work is crucial.
On the community side, Green Island Challenge aims to create a connection with the environment so that the community, especially the youth, can learn about environmental education. The goal is to change from poaching to protection. At the beginning of the organization, Anuar took it upon himself to seek out the hunters and poachers, meeting them and inviting them to be part of Green Island Challenge. It was essential to change this behavior, and the only way to achieve that was by starting from the root. Some community members agreed to participate, while others did not. Anuar comments, “As the most remote populated island in Honduras, this presents challenges. That’s why it’s called the Green Island Challenge. What are the challenges? There’s almost no authority, no regulatory system that works.” This underscores the importance of organizations like these, which constantly work to protect an unprotected place.
To change the exploitative relationship that the community has with its environmental heritage—for example, fishing, catching parrots for trafficking, stealing turtle eggs, and more—Crystal also emphasizes the importance of providing economic opportunities. She says, “Right now, the only economic relationship they have with the environment is exploitative. So, we want to show that an environmental economic model that protects its ecosystem can exist.” This is truly important for island communities like Guanaja that depend so much on the environment.

4. How did your collaboration with the youth of Guanaja begin?

Crystal explains, “It began with environmental education”
How did they do this? “By going to schools, saying that we wanted to give environmental education classes. We developed a curriculum, which consists of one month (4 visits). From there, Green Island Challenge developed a few young people who saw that they could work with us, continuing to develop relationships with schools, teachers, and principals. From there, Anuar has taken these relationships and expanded them into fieldwork.”
This work with schools was very important, Anuar tells us. He says, “The children brought ideas home, and these spread. Another way in was through sports, specifically soccer, since it’s basically the only sport practiced here every Sunday. I got some uniforms with a parrot and turtle theme and donated them. That’s how Green Island Challenge became more and more integrated into the Guanaja community. In the soccer teams, there were several hunters, and that’s where we managed to recruit several young people. One of them asked for a job, and we gave him something significant—a way to start and motivate him. In the first years, I wrote support letters to the Honduran Navy to patrol the sea with me to protect the beaches with turtles and the mountains to protect the parrots. In the first three years, we were day and night with the military, patrolling. This helped repeal the community a bit more. Now, we still do it, but more gently. The parrot patrols are still done with the military, but now the community starts reporting to us when something illegal is happening. Little by little, we are starting to see that the community is becoming more aware, but there’s still more work to do.”

5. Is diving integrated into your program? If so, how?

Crystal explains, “Since we work in conservation, diving is key, especially in our work with turtles. We are interested in knowing the state of the sea, the condition of the reef, and what is happening here, since Guanaja is the last island where they come to nest. They no longer go to Roatan or Utila because there is too much tourism, and all the beaches are occupied. Here, we mostly have hawksbill turtles, which are critically endangered, and a lot of them come here to nest, so it’s something very special that we have. Now, of course, diving is the most expensive part, so it has been the most challenging to conduct those surveys. We did them before DWP arrived, but informally with Hotel Guanaja. But now, with DWP, we have the opportunity to conduct those surveys more formally.”
Anuar adds, “Well, clearly Guanaja is an island, and the ocean surrounds it. As we’ve discussed before, the community has an extractive relationship with the environment. So why did we integrate diving? Because of the turtles. Before they arrive to nest, they first come to the reef, where they find food. Turtles like to eat jellyfish, but if they come from a long journey and there are no jellyfish, they start eating certain sponges and parts of the reef around the island. After one or two weeks, they go to the beach and nest. So, you can see how everything is connected.” Engineer Romero explains that for the youth on the island, being able to dive and see the marine species creates a different kind of awareness and love for what lies beneath the water. It fosters a stronger sense of belonging and a desire to protect it. The social and environmental consciousness toward marine resources grows.

6. How do you see the future partnership between the DWP CARES program and the Green Island Challenge evolving?

Anuar Romero: “Our experience with DWP has been spectacular. We see the growth of young people, not only in conservation and ecology but also in their social and integral development as youth integrating into society. As Green Island Challenge, we are very happy with this. So, how do we see ourselves? We see ourselves continuing to collaborate in the future to involve more island youth so they can be part of these programs and have the same experience, guiding future generations to
conserve and protect with purpose.”

 

7. What message or advice would you like to share with those who are inspired by the Green Island Challenge and wish to contribute to environmental conservation efforts?

Anuar Romero: “We only have one home on this planet. For the islanders of Guanaja, it happens to be this island. If your home continues to degrade or resources are lost due to human actions—actions that we ourselves undertake without realizing it, because previous generations did them—times have changed. Now resources are limited, and we must take care of them. Marine resources are not inexhaustible; the reef depletes, certain species’ populations deplete. So, we must have that  awareness to conserve the only home we have, which is planet Earth, but for the islanders of Guanaja.”

And how can we contribute? Anuar Romero: “With support—this is all about support. Anyone who reads this and feels inspired can contribute. And this can be done in different ways—one way is financially, and the other is through educational and formative support for the youth on the island. Any support that can be materialized in the community will be very important to continue the work of Green Island Challenge.”