Blog Action Day 08: Poverty

poverty, n.

1. The state of being extremely poor.
2. The state of being insufficient in amount.

Today is Blog Action Day, and the topic of discussion this year is poverty.

As someone who is very concerned about environmental problems and conservation of biodiversity, the relevance of poverty to the issues closest to my heart might not be readily apparent. However, poverty and the state of the environment are actually inextricably linked together; to fully explain the complex and multi-faceted relationships between poverty and the environment would require a long series of posts, which I might have considered doing if I had more time, and greater expertise in critically analysing these issues. But suffice to say that all over the world, people trying to manage environmental degradation or conservation also have to grapple with issues of poverty. Whether it is combating desertification and staving off famine in the Sahel by introducing better agricultural practices, compensating farmers and livestock herders in India for losses resulting from wildlife depredations, or developing ecotourism in Venezuela so that villagers will see more value in keeping a rainforest rather than having it razed for timber, the conservationists and environmentalists involved in such projects and initiatives are all too aware that tackling environmental problems usually goes hand in hand with solving the problems of the people first.

Here in Singapore, where the vast majority of us do not have to worry about starving to death, bathing in rivers filled with raw sewage, or drinking water laden with toxic industrial waste, the lives of the millions for whom such scenarios are part and parcel of daily life can be difficult to identify with. Those horrific scenes of slums and famines, of fly-infested refugee camps and garbage-choked rivers, might seem distant, unfamiliar, even alien. But let's not forget that today, poverty still exists in Singapore, even though most of us choose to ignore it. There is still much that can be done to tackle this problem, both on a local and global basis.

When November and I made a television appearance on Rouge in April earlier this year as members of the Naked Hermit Crabs, we met two very passionate members of ONE (SINGAPORE), President Vernetta Lopez and co-founder Michael Switow. They spoke up about poverty, and the global movements that are calling for much more to be done. One of the biggest campaigns is Stand Up, which serves as a reminder to the rest of the world about the Millennium Development Goals, which leaders of 189 countries had agreed upon and signed in 2000.

Singapore will be taking part in this global mobilisation, with various events being held all across the country. This is the opportunity for all of us to stand up and speak out against poverty, and let our voices be heard.

For if we choose to continue to ignore poverty and the implications that it has on the environment, then perhaps it points to a very different sort of poverty within us.

Lizard on TV

Update: Liana has blogged a quick summary of our segment on Rouge over at Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs

For the past week, I have been getting a huge number of messages from friends and acquaintances, through SMS, MSN Messenger, and even Facebook, telling me that I've been spotted on television. I am a little surprised by all the attention, especially when you consider that I make an appearance for less than 5 seconds on the promo trailer for tonight's episode of Rouge.

When I agreed to be interviewed on the show together with November three weeks ago, little did I know just how many people would find out, and how they would react. It seems even my parents have had their friends calling them to ask if their son was really appearing on national television.

But I suppose at the very least, this is a great opportunity to promote the wonderful work that so many of us are doing to raise awareness of our shores and their natural splendours.

Here's the synopsis from the Channel 5 programme schedule:

Can You Save The World?

What have you done to save the world?

This week on Rouge, we say "we can" to saving the environment, helping the poor and the disabled. Join special guests from ONE (SINGAPORE), President and Class 95 deejay Vernetta Lopez and co-founder Micheal Switow as they share with us how to make poverty history.

Social entrepreneur Lois Ng tells us more about Studio You and Rouge joins the Naked Hermit Crabs in a search of some marine life along the shores of Singapore.

Rouge will broadcast tonight, 20 April (Sunday) on Channel 5 at 10pm. I'll be sitting in front of the television screen, seeing how I make a fool out of myself. I think I am going to go down in history as the guy who revealed to Eunice Olsen that the giant reef worm happens to belong to the genus Eunice.

You can read about our experience in the television studio in one of my previous posts or over at Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs. November also blogged about her experience being filmed on Pulau Semakau over at the Midnight Monkey Monitor, while Ria documents the wonderful time they had that morning at the Wildfilms blog.

Coming soon to a TV screen near you... we get naked!

While some of the Naked Hermit Crabs were out there risking life and limb, braving the elements and leading other folks around Chek Jawa, a few other crabs were all comfy and prim and proper inside a television studio on Caldecott Hill. The reason? Because we're going to be on TV! *girlish scream*



The Channel 5 talkshow Rouge, hosted by the lovely Eunice Olsen, decided to do a feature on the Naked Hermit Crabs in conjunction with their Earth Day episode, to be screened on April 20th. And so, November and I arrived at Mediacorp studios for the recording.



The location was a far cry from our usual native habitats, and we had to dress up for the event. It's like a hermit crab switching over to a prettier shell! We certainly looked very different from our usual unglamorous, sweaty, smelly, soggy selves out on the shores (though the audiences did get a glimpse of November in her usual field garb from the Semakau footage).

Eunice is an extremely nice and approachable lady, and she was fascinated with our name and the things we Naked Hermit Crabs do. She also shared with us how as a child, her father would bring her out to places like Seletar Island and the Malaysian coast and look for seashore life at low tide.



The recording went great, and we spoke on various topics, such as the rich biodiversity of our shores and the threats they face, stressed the importance of raising awareness, and what people can do to help. November brought up the Triple Acts: eXplore, eXpress, and ACT! We also mentioned how this year is the International Year of the Reef.

Eunice was very pleased when we conferred her the status of honorary Naked Hermit Crab and gave her a guide badge. She was even more pleasantly surprised when we presented her with a copy of Dr. Chua's Singapore Splendours and pointed out the photo of the Giant Reef Worm, whose genus name happens to be Eunice! I know, it was a nice coincidence that really worked. And all the members of the audience went home with their own copy of the Guidesheet to the Amazing Marine Life of the Southern Shores of Singapore.

We got a real behind-the-scenes look at how television programmes like Rouge are produced and filmed, with all the editing and re-recording and bloopers. It really takes a lot of time and effort just to film a single half-hour episode.




(L-R): Michael, Lois, Eunice, November, Ivan and Vernetta

Besides us, the show recorded segments featuring people from 2 other very different groups doing their own bit for the community at large; there was the very brave and dedicated Lois Ng, who founded Studio You, which employs and empowers people with disabilities.



As well as the passionate representatives from ONE (SINGAPORE), which helps raise awareness of the fight to eradicate poverty; President Vernetta Lopez and Co-founder Michael Switow came to talk about the work they have been doing, especially with homeless migrant workers in Singapore who have nowhere to turn to for assistance.



So in general, I think it will be a very eye-opening show for TV audiences on how we as individuals can act to literally save the world in various aspects.


Take-home message: Each of us has the potential to contribute and help make the world a brighter and better place in our own special way.

Lots of thanks go out to fellow crabs Ley Kun and Bian, and Hannah and Vyna from Team Seagrass for coming to lend us their support, the other members of the audience for their applause, Miss Eunice Olsen and the other guests for such a delightful afternoon of sharing, and of course to the hardworking crew at Mediacorp like Vivian, Rahmat and Clarabelle for such a fun and memorable experience and for making this all possible.

We're certainly looking forward to having Eunice (the person, not the worm) join us on our walks in future. Maybe we could be fortunate enough to have Eunice (the person/the worm) come face to face with Eunice (the person/the worm)...


(L-R): Ley Kun, Vyna, Bian and Hannah

So now, not only are there Naked Hermit Crabs running around on Sentosa and Chek Jawa, in the near future you'll also see some Naked Hermit Crabs running around on TV!

(Cross-posted to Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs)