Rare Conservation Fellow Yalap P. Yalap during his 2001-2002 Pride campaign.
More than a decade ago, a man in England, Paul Butler, called the Palau Conservation Society (PCS) seeking a candidate from Palau to join his program that trained local conservationists to run marketing campaigns demonstrably engaging communities in protecting their resources. PCS answered with Yalap P. Yalap. Within weeks, Butler met Yalap at Heathrow airport to begin Rare’s program.
Yalap partnered with Rare to run a Pride campaign focused on sea turtle conservation. Two of seven remaining sea turtle species in the world nest on Palau — hawksbill turtles and green sea turtles. Through extensive surveys, workshops and community outreach, Yalap systematically established objectives to move Palauans toward willingly conserving turtles. Ten years after his official program with Paul ended, Rare caught up with Yalap.
When you got the Paul call, had you heard of Rare or social marketing?
Paul had actually trained my brother in a workshop in the late 1990s. I kept his manuals and still go through them sometimes. It was really good luck for PCS that I went through the program. I did not know how to do social marketing. It was a great eye-opener for my boss and me. A lot of programs in Palau now work with social marketing, even the nation’s hospital. PCS is a pioneer in social marketing in Palau.
What was the main goal of your campaign?
My main goal was to get a 10-year moratorium on hawksbill turtle hunting. In 2010, the president passed a five-year moratorium. These things do not happen overnight. It took nine years to achieve this milestone.
Did you notice changes within the two years of the Pride campaign?
Turtles are important in Palauan culture for reasons of both diet and customs. It was common to see turtles on their backs in people’s yards waiting to be slaughtered. The shells, or scutes, are used as a traditional tribute among women for funerals and other occasions. Now I don’t see turtles in yards. On boats to other Palauan islands there used to be turtles for sale with names written on their chests. That has stopped.
You met with current Rare Conservation Fellows in the Philippines and Micronesia. What advice did you have for them?
There is a lot of sacrifice, but you will learn a lot and be happy you did it. You need pride. You must follow your project plan and prepare everything ahead of time. I tell them, “You cannot get sick and miss the boat; you are the captain of your own boat. I get sleep whenever I can get sleep and find shade where there is shade.”
Do you still use the social marketing skills and tools you learned through Rare?
I am now known in Palau as the turtle conservation guy. It’s the commitment. They see the same face explaining the same things. They hear me on the radio and see me on TV and they listen. I still use social marketing. This year for Earth Day, I gave students turtle stickers as a prize for answering questions correctly.
What is next?
Palauans need to know about climate adaptation and resilience. Seasonal events and fruiting seasons have changed. Climate change is not new, but it is accelerating faster, and we need to get protected areas and help with livelihoods. We should be able to manage our own resources for our future people. But first we need to know what to talk about. We have to go to the community to assess gaps in knowledge and document it. We need to make people care.