Island and Ocean Ecosystems
The legacy of Mr. Lui Bell, a known Pacific island marine conservationist, lives on through a Post-Graduate Scholarship for Marine Species Conservation with Ms. Saras Sharmas, the first recipient of this special award now partway through her postgraduate studies.
Lui Bell passed away in 2012 yet he remains as a beacon for marine conservation in the Pacific region and will continue to do so for many years to come.
Mr. Lui Bell on right at back in red shirt - working with Pacific island colleagues as part of turtle monitoring programme
The scholarship launched by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the family of Lui Bell in 2013 in honour of his memory, awards up to 20,000 USD to Pacific islanders undertaking studies in marine science with a focus on conservation of threatened marine species, in particular turtles, cetaceans, dugongs and sharks.
Ms. Sharmas is currently undertaking her postgraduate studies at the University of the South Pacific, Laucala Campus, Suva. Next year she will be carrying out her Masters, her research topic being the study of humpback whales in the Vatu-i-Ra channel in Fiji.
"It is such an honour and a privilege for me to have this opportunity. Lui Bell was the best, it's hard to explain in one sentence all he did for the Pacific, he has opened up endless opportunities for the next generation and it will be hard to fill his shoes," said Ms. Sharmas.
"He inspired all of us to be passionate about the environment, about the species and not as just part of our work, but as part of our daily life."
Ms. Sharmas is currently a full time student; she was working with the Fiji Fisheries Department for the eight years before that, based on a remote island studying giant clams, sea turtles and other marine species.
Ms. Sharmas in middle, front row - with fellow Pacific island colleagues
One of the highlights of her career includes being part of the Fiji Delegation at the 11th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in 2014. It was there that Fiji was successful with their proposal for the CMS to list reef manta rays and all mobula rays under appendices 1 and 2 – these lists contain migratory species with an unfavourable conservation status and require international agreements for their conservation and management.
"I'd like to thank SPREP and the family of Lui Bell. I feel very privileged and honoured to be the first person to receive this award, everyone has been very supportive this has been an amazing experience, I only hope I can achieve as much as Lui did," said Ms. Sharmas.
Mr Lui Bell joined the SPREP family in 2005 and was responsible for developing and implementing ground-breaking approaches for monitoring the migration paths of turtles. He was also the architect of over 18 million square kilometres of whale and dolphin sanctuaries in the Pacific Ocean.
"Lui was a world expert and his message was simple – whoever you are, no matter your station in life, you can and you must play a role to conserve and protect marine species and to respect them," said Mr. Michael Donoghue, the Marine Species Adviser at SPREP.
"We are proud to see the legacy of Lui live on in Ms. Sharmas and through this scholarship and look forward to the legacy continuing through many Pacific islanders over the years to come."
The Lui Bell Memorial Scholarship is open for applications in May of each year.
The recipient for 2015 is Ms Namrata Chand, a graduate of the University of Otago in New Zealand. She will be studying foraging and breeding habitat for turtles in Fiji.
Lui Bell passed away in 2012 yet he remains as a beacon for marine conservation in the Pacific region and will continue to do so for many years to come.
Mr. Lui Bell on right at back in red shirt - working with Pacific island colleagues as part of turtle monitoring programmeThe scholarship launched by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the family of Lui Bell in 2013 in honour of his memory, awards up to 20,000 USD to Pacific islanders undertaking studies in marine science with a focus on conservation of threatened marine species, in particular turtles, cetaceans, dugongs and sharks.
Ms. Sharmas is currently undertaking her postgraduate studies at the University of the South Pacific, Laucala Campus, Suva. Next year she will be carrying out her Masters, her research topic being the study of humpback whales in the Vatu-i-Ra channel in Fiji.
"It is such an honour and a privilege for me to have this opportunity. Lui Bell was the best, it's hard to explain in one sentence all he did for the Pacific, he has opened up endless opportunities for the next generation and it will be hard to fill his shoes," said Ms. Sharmas.
"He inspired all of us to be passionate about the environment, about the species and not as just part of our work, but as part of our daily life."
Ms. Sharmas is currently a full time student; she was working with the Fiji Fisheries Department for the eight years before that, based on a remote island studying giant clams, sea turtles and other marine species.
Ms. Sharmas in middle, front row - with fellow Pacific island colleagues"I'd like to thank SPREP and the family of Lui Bell. I feel very privileged and honoured to be the first person to receive this award, everyone has been very supportive this has been an amazing experience, I only hope I can achieve as much as Lui did," said Ms. Sharmas.
Mr Lui Bell joined the SPREP family in 2005 and was responsible for developing and implementing ground-breaking approaches for monitoring the migration paths of turtles. He was also the architect of over 18 million square kilometres of whale and dolphin sanctuaries in the Pacific Ocean.
"Lui was a world expert and his message was simple – whoever you are, no matter your station in life, you can and you must play a role to conserve and protect marine species and to respect them," said Mr. Michael Donoghue, the Marine Species Adviser at SPREP.
"We are proud to see the legacy of Lui live on in Ms. Sharmas and through this scholarship and look forward to the legacy continuing through many Pacific islanders over the years to come."
The Lui Bell Memorial Scholarship is open for applications in May of each year.
The recipient for 2015 is Ms Namrata Chand, a graduate of the University of Otago in New Zealand. She will be studying foraging and breeding habitat for turtles in Fiji.