Watching the waters of Galapagos

Lookout Qatar

In Time

Watching the Waters of Galapagos On the 50th anniversary of the Charles Darwin Foundation Research Station, T Qatar takes a closer look at an unlikely partnership that brought together two organisations worlds apart, binding them to the cause of restoring the skewed ecological balance.

BY AYSWARYA MURTHY

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T Qatar: The New York Times Style Magazine

at Galapagos Islands. But all this changed at the hands of a certain unassuming tourist who arrived on the island ten years ago and a luxury watch-making company thousands of miles away.

When Swen Lorenz landed in Galapagos he was immediately taken to the island’s rich and unique ecosystem, much like Charles Darwin was years before him. Though Lorenz had business interests spread across England, Russia and Macau, his heart refused to leave the deep blues and lush greens of the island. So he stayed and through the friends he made and his work with local high school students, he established connections with the Charles Darwin Foundation.

Charged with undertaking all-important research to preserve the delicate balance in nature here and elsewhere, the foundation would soon find itself a victim of the global economic recession. Its “lack of a sustainable funding model” would compound these woes. By this time, Lorenz was already working closely with CDF and contributing both time and money towards its many projects. Eventually, in 2011 he was invited to join the board and a few months later, took over as its Executive Director. Barely three years on, the foundation is operating on the right side of the ledger, with an annual budget of (QR13 million) $3.5 million. Equally important, Lorenz’s business acumen has given the foundation’s research work better focus and has led to streamlined and effective partnerships

TRAILING THE SHARKS: Executive Director of the Charles Darwin Foundation Swen Lorenz chats about the far reaching impacts of research like the shark tagging project being carried out at the island.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: MICHAEL MUELLER, PRODUCT PICTURES COURTESY OF IWC

TIME. WHILE HUMANS are consumed by its relentless march — willing it, in parts, to jump forward, turn back and stand still — our animal friends, to quote research, are “stuck in time with no sense of past or future”. In a sense, they live in the moment more than we could ever hope to.

Close to a century and half ago, when Charles Darwin was still working on The Descent of Man and growing out his distinctive bushy beard, and an International Watch Company was setting up its first factory in Schaffhausen, the sharks of the world didn’t have to worry about being plucked out of water for a brutal de-finning, only to be thrown back in, effectively immobile, to die of hunger, suffocation and predatory attacks. Today, this happens to millions of sharks annually. Every day hundreds of them sink helplessly to the ocean floor, unable to count the minutes till the inevitable end. Several metres above, an organisation that fights on behalf of this species was itself locked in its own battle for survival.

And, just as for the finless shark, time was running out for the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF)

A TRIBUTE IN DESIGN: For the 50th anniversary of the research station, IWC introduced their new Aquatimer diving watches, among which are three special chronograph models dedicated to the magical archipelago of Galapagos — Galapagos Islands, 50 Years Science for Galapagos and Expedition Charles Darwin; top right Creative Director at IWC, Christian Knoop.

with the Government of Ecuador, local and global organisations and corporations all working towards the common goal of conservation.

Throwing his mind back, Lorenz remembers some of the issues plaguing the foundation when he was handed over its reins. “The organisation found it easy to raise funds for specific science projects, but it always had tremendous difficulties gathering the funding necessary to operate a physical research station with 15 buildings, high costs for electricity and internet, and expensive costs for boat charters since it didn’t own its own research vessel,” he remembers. “The CDF was also too dispersed in its efforts, trying to manage a staggering 69 projects among roughly 100 staff members.” It was evident to Lorenz that their organisation needed a different funding model, renewed focus, and “to simply have someone pull the cart and provide leadership at a time when the organisation was on the brink of collapse”. Fast forward to 2014 and there is a dramatic change in the whole narrative. Much of it, Lorenz says, boils down to good old fashioned experience, hard work and long hours in the office. And through this, the support of organisations like IWC Schaffhausen, which has been one of the biggest corporate benefactors of CDF since the beginning of their association in 2009, has been invaluable.

CDF is one of the many charitable organisations supported by IWC Schaffhausen, according to Karoline Huber Regional Brand Director, but the association goes beyond their Corporate Social Responsibility agenda. It has become a creative driver and an opportunity to produce an array of meaningful and evocative stories which “emotionally anchor our timepieces in the world of the Galapagos Islands”. IWC has been “generating awareness for the unique universe of the Galapagos Islands and informing a larger audience about their projects” and also through newly launched special edition timepieces, CDF has become “a vital part of IWC’s emotional brand universe”, she says. The Galapagos-themed exhibit at the IWC Museum features photography and in-depth information about the islands, attempting to explain its history, uniqueness and introducing the beauty of its flora and fauna to visitors of the IWC museum, who number several thousand per year. For the 50th anniversary of the research station, IWC introduced their new Aquatimer diving watches,

among which are three special chronograph models dedicated to the magical archipelago of Galapagos — Galapagos Islands, 50 Years Science for Galapagos and Expedition Charles Darwin. Combining IWC’s brand DNA of clean-cut, functional and masculine design, Aquatimer’s technological superiority and ruggedness and the colours and textures of the Galapagos Islands, Creative Director Christian Knoop has crafted a story that, when strapped onto your wrists, transports you to a different time and place. “We took inspiration from the Galapagos, looking at everything from the blue of the ocean to the brown tones of weathered wood and the greys of the different stones, while the idea for the bronze case of the Edition Expedition Charles Darwin came directly from reading the history of the HMS Beagle’s voyage and discovering how the ship was extensively equipped with bronze fittings,” Knoop says. “The Galapagos Islands are made of volcano stone and are surrounded by a cold, rough and dark underwater world,” Huber adds.

“Inspired by this setting, the matte black rubber coating on the stainless-steel case, applied in a complex vulcanization process, has come to be a special feature of the Galapagos edition.” And the timepieces came a full circle when CDF scientists helped field-test

July - August 2014

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Lookout Qatar

In Time

‘Inspired by Galapagos Islands’ setting of volcanic stone surrounded by rough, cold and dark water, the matte black rubber coating on the stainless-steel case, applied in a complex vulcanization process, has come to be a special feature of this edition.’

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T Qatar: The New York Times Style Magazine

work of the CDF, supported by partners like IWC Schaffhausen, is all about. IWC’s involvement will enable the research centre to further study the vast underwater world which accounts for a remarkable two-thirds of the entire Galapagos, take on the challenge of protecting important birds such as Darwin’s finch, the mockingbird and the Vermilion Flycatcher and develop innovative technologies to enable large-scale reintroduction of certain plant species without using large amounts of water, the company says. Lorenz says the financial stability accorded by new income sources like a new student program and a gift shop catering to the 100,000 foreign visitors annually has dared them to be ambitious about the future. “There is a lot more work to be done. I would like to build a new student campus in the research station, replace our marine research center with a new facility, and open a museum to show our history and achievements.” But for now, Lorenz and his team deserve to take a break to look back on their accomplishments and the jubilee celebrations planned this year provide an ideal opportunity to do exactly that.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: MICHAEL MUELLER, PRODUCT PICTURES COURTESY OF IWC

these to help make them the best possible product for divers and help improve safety of diving. This brings us back to the marine reserve at Galapagos where CDF’s research team works on projects that preserve not only the unimitable diversity of the islands but also has a scalable impact in helping protect ecological diversity and endangered species in other parts of the world. One of Lorenz’s first acts was to limit the number of science projects to 15 and focus on a few priority areas that promise huge impact. The Galapagos Shark Research and Conservation Project is one of them. Facilitated by IWC, a new shark tagging project got underway in July 2014 through which 123 satellite tags were attached to the different shark species living in the waters surrounding the Galapagos, enabling more insights into their movement and migration patterns. The vision of the project is long-term and far-reaching. Lorenz hopes to demonstrate the connectivity of different hotspots of the Pacific Ocean through this project and “use this data to convince decision-makers in various governments of implementing necessary changes to ensure the health of shark populations when they leave the reserve”.

Tangible results are already being achieved in the case of Cocos Islands of Columbia, which has been identified as an important point along the migratory path of the sharks. “Cocos has now started to step up its protection of sharks, and in many ways they are using the lessons that were learned in Galapagos. Better protecting the sea between Galapagos and Cocos will be the next step,” Lorenz says. “I hope that one day we will have a carefully constructed network of marine protected areas across the Pacific, doing their bit to help the oceans recover. The discussions, both in science as well as politics, are definitely moving into this direction.” Closer to home, the project is helping bring to light some of the practices that are inadvertently hurting the shark population. “With our tagging program, we recently provided evidence how certain fishing techniques applied by the artisanal fishermen in the marine reserve lead to sharks getting killed accidentally. When we delivered this evidence to the Galapagos National Park they immediately put a ban onto this fishing technique,” Lorenz says, proud to point out that this is what the

THE PATH TO CONSERVATION: Tangible results are already being achieved in the case of Cocos Islands of Columbia, which has been identified as an important point along the migratory path of the sharks.