Vol. 11 (1): June 2008

Twenty Years of Action

by Vangelis Paravas

MOm – twenty years of action. A flashback that reminds me of the course all of us in MOm have followed, contributing to the development of the organisation, conducting research activities in the field and weighing up the results. Everyone who currently works and actively supports MOm has his or her own personal staring point in this long effort. Some of us have been involved from the beginning, and the very first formation of the organisation, whilst others – like me – were just children twenty years ago. However, in MOm we all share a common goal: the effective protection and conservation of the natural environment.

I started my collaboration with MOm in 2003, at the isolated and “virgin” island of Kimolos. As a field biologist, I was very enthusiastic about the prospect of studying and protecting this critically endangered and magnificent marine mammal, the Mediterranean monk seal.

Because it is one of the rarest animals in the world, very few people have the opportunity to observe them in the wild. My very first encounter was an experience I’ll never forget. It took place during my first field training course on monitoring techniques, with MOm’s research team on Kimolos Island. It was mid-summer, a period when monk seals are mostly away from their shelters, the sea caves. I was just a “rookie” being instructed to enter silently and cautiously into the dim marine caves and solely depend on smell and hearing to detect the possible presence of a Monachus monachus. Suddenly, two weaned seals popped out of the blue, swimming two to three meters away from me. Both were curious about my presence and were observing me from a safe distance, swiftly glancing at each other and then turning again towards me in a very communicative way. I was completely stunned, bound up with this unique scene in front of me. The whole event lasted less than a minute, and the two youngsters quickly vanished into the deep, leaving me floating with a dreamlike dazzle.

A new underwater world was laid bare in front of me on that day. At those, my first steps with monk seals, MOm had just turned fifteen years old, a “milestone” that clearly showed me the achievements and results accomplished at that point. This motivated me to shift my own perspective towards collective actions on matters that concern us all, especially the protection of the natural environment.

Five years later, I realise the mounting difficulties in accomplishing such a task, yet the enthusiasm I had back then still remains undiminished – not only for the wonders of monk seals, but also for the non-stop conservation effort that we undertake at MOm, illustrated by achievements in the past, but mostly in what is yet to come.

Vangelis Paravas, May 2008.

Vangelis Paravas was appointed President of the Board of Directors of Mom/Hellenic Society for the Study & Protection of the Monk Seal on 24 February 2008.

Copyright © 2008 Vangelis Paravas, The Monachus Guardian. All Rights Reserved