Paul Butler's
Publik Profil
Tentag Aku
After getting my degree at North-East London Polytechnic I
headed out to the Caribbean Island of Saint Lucia on a
corporate-sponsored research expedition to assess the status of the
endemic Saint Lucia Parrot (Amazona versicolor). Our
research showed the species to be in decline numbering fewer than
150 individuals.
It was a species on the very brink of extinction. In the trip
report produced by our "research team" we recommended a number of
inititatives to the Saint Lucia Government. In July
1977, I was asked by that Government to return to the island to
work with their Forestry Department in implementing these
recommendations in the hope of reversing this decline. I ended up
serving more than ten years in the posts of Conservation Advisor
and Deputy Chief Forest Officer. During this period
new legislation was written and passed (Wildlife Protection Act;
Forestry Act) and Saint Lucia ratified CITES. New
reserves were added including extensions to the Government Forest
Reserve, Maria Islands etc. The Parrot was declared the National
Bird and a comprehensive outreach campaign launched to build
community support for the species' preservation. This campaign
which was based around corporate marketing strategies led to
dramatic declines in wildlife hunting and a rebounding of the
species. The approach also laid the foundation for what has become
RarePride.
In 1988, I joined Rare and spent a year on neighboring Saint
Vincent, where together with that Island's Forestry Division, we
replicated the Pride Program with their National Bird - the Saint
Vincent Parrot, (Amazona guildingii). 1989 saw further
development of the program when it was replicated on Dominica by
that island's Forestry Department. In 1990, the Pride
approach was consolidated and encapsulated into a manual:
Promoting Protection Through Pride which was first tested
by the Montserrat National Trust, which used
the approach to build Pride in their endemic and
endangered Montserrat Oriole. Between 1990
and 2000 over 30 campaigns were hosted
throughout the Caribbean, Pacific and Central America using the
manual as a guide
In 2000, Rare analysed the approach and the "success" of the
first 30 campaigns (what are now referred to as traditional
campaigns) and decided to embed the program in Universities around
the world. This would enhance the teaching of the methodology,
improve our ability to take the program to scale and provide
academic credits to the campaign managers who use the approach at
their own sites. The program began with the University of kent in
England and then expanded to the University of Guadalajara in
Mexico and the Bogor Agricultural Institute in Indonesia. From
these academic nodes Rare and its local partners and generous
donors would launch over 100 more campaigns. In 2007,
Rare reviewed this suite of campaigns and further refined the
program, adding a Chinese University (South West Forestry),
amending the taught curriculum, as well as the phasing of the
program. For a full history of the program see www.rareconservation.org
My work has been recognized by the UN (Global 500 laureate),
Smithsonian magazine (Environment Award); Chicago Zoological
Society (Presidential Award) and by the Government of Saint Lucia
who presented me with citizenship and their Medal of Merit
(SLMM).
This year marks my 21st year at Rare. I have enjoyed every
moment and am enormously proud of its accomplishments, none of
which would have been possible without our local partners and
donors!
I Knew I was a Conservationist When....
When I was very, very young and saw my first poisonous snake. I asked my father to catch it for me as apet as it was more dangerous if I tried to grab it as I was a child. He suggested that I conserve them in the wild rather than keep it in the house......
