Valen’s Reef

Following the story of “fisherman-turned-coral-scientist” Ronald Mambrasar and his son, Valen, Conservation International brings viewers a 360 degree photo-realistic look at the thriving Bird’s Head Seascape. “Valen’s Reef” is a 2016 virtual reality experience showcasing the importance of protecting the waters of Raja Ampat for future generations through community-based conservation. The VR experience is available online or within VR viewing apps. Located in the Indonesian province of West Papua, the Bird’s Head Seascape was once decimated by industry; invasive commercial fishing and harmful methods (ie: blast fishing), along with poaching, led to a 90% decline in catch by the 1990s. Such decline in catch led to a subsequent demise of traditional fishing rights and biodiversity in the area as a whole. Mambrasar takes viewers along with him and his son to explore the Bird’s Head Seascape, which is now home again to an abundance of shark, ray, whale and fish species. Poaching has decreased by over 90%, with coral recovering as ecotourism brings in a new stream of revenue for islanders. Despite the undeniable successes at the Bird’s Head Seascape, this area is primarily showcased due to Conservation International’s direct and vested interest in this project primarily; many other areas of seascape have undergone community-based remediation.

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Air Pollution Robot

The dangers of air pollution to human health are well documented, though the traditional methodology of collecting and reporting on sample lags behind the need to keep abreast and regulate air pollution in a meaningful amount of time. The use of drones and robots have been identified by researchers as resources that can be tweaked […]

Artificial Life, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Industry/Natural Commodities, Lifestyle, Monitoring

Telematic Rivers

Erica Kermani’s artwork seeks to answer a central question: if rivers were seeing an equal, living entity, would humans take issues like climate change threatening them more seriously? In his year-long art exhibition in 2017, Kermani, in collaboration with Diana Salcedo & Jeana Chesnik, created a new forum of interaction between humans and rivers to […]

Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Lifestyle, Monitoring, Pollution, Visual Technologies

Co-occupied Boundaries

Art is easily found in nature but rarely is what considered art today inherently natural. The concept of co-occupied mediums that serve to be both functional for nature and aesthetically pleasing to people is being actively explored by Asya Ilgun and Phil Ayres, from the CITAstudio at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. In […]

Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Lifestyle, Monitoring, Pollution, Visual Technologies