Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 3, 1 March 2011 — Q&A CRAIG MUSBURGER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Q&A CRAIG MUSBURGER

īhe filmmaker is documenting the impacts of climate change vn the islands of Micronesia

lnterviewed by Diana Leone Climate change may be a debated topic in other parts of the globe. But in the island countries of Micronesia, the rising Paeihe Oeean is a real and present danger. Filmmaker and biologist Craig Musburger is creating a documentary about the impact of global warming on Micronesian islands and their efforts to counter its effects. A grant to make the film eame from the Micronesia Conservation Trust, whose major task is to coordinate the Micronesia Challenge, a cooperative pledge by the governments of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to effectively conserve 30 percent of all marine and 20 percent of all terrestrial resources by the year 2020. The Nature Conservancy and U. S . Nahonal Oeeanie and Atmospheric Administration and Department of the Interior are participants in the trust. The documentary will examine how a changing climate will affect the islands of Micronesia, and what those communities are doing to minimize those destructive impacts. "Despite what some naysayers would have you believe, the earth's climate is changing. Manmade change in the atmosphere is already affecting the planet, and

nowhere in the world are the effects more apparent than in small Paeihe islands," says Musburger, 36, an O'ahu resident. "For the people of Micronesia, their survival depends on adapting to a changing climate, and while they are largely not responsible for the climate change we see, they are actively implementing conservation strategies to minimize loeal impacts." Though the film focuses on another part of the Paeihe, its lessons are relevant to Plawai'i, Musburger says. Fle spoke to Ka Wai Ola about his work. KWO: Whieh eame first, heing a scientist or heing a lilmmakei? MUSBURGER: During high school, I participated in a summer program in Fiji that was a eomhination of science and photography, so I started getting interested in both at the same time. Then I worked as dive guide for a eouple years in tourist industry. I moved to Plawai'i in 2000, got my zoology master's degree at the University of Plawai'i and will defend my Ph.D. this semester. While I've been in school, I've been working as an underwater cameraman and videographer to pay my way through school. (Among his credits, camera work for the Ford Ironman World Championships that has been nominated for an Emmy Award.) KWO: When did you get the grant from the Micronesia Con-

servation Trust? MUSBURGER: It's been pretty fast. We made the grant applieation in November. It was awarded in December. We (Musburger and sound technician Josiah Sewell) basically jumped on an airplane immediately (in January) and spent three weeks in Micronesia. We shot 150 hours of video and 4,000 still pictures in the Marshall Islands, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Palau, Saipan and Yap. The budget for the project is just shy of $100,000. We're hoping to finish it by March. KWO: Who will he the audienee for your film? MUSBURGER: Micronesians. This is a film to help educate Micronesians about what ean be done locally in Micronesia to prepare for the oncoming effects of climate change. We'll look at what scientists are predicting will happen and what conservation projects are already being done We'll be showing projects that worked. The guys in Pohnpei don't

necessarily know what they're doing in Palau. By sharing the success from eaeh plaee, it fosters more understanding. KWO: What previous eduealional films have you made? MUSBURGER: I've done smaller-scale stuff for museums and underwater shoots for the Discovery Channel, ESPN and a National Geographic show about the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, but to be writer, producer, cameraman and director, this one is the first. The finished film will be 30 minutes long. KWO: What's your higgest impression after three weeks filming in Micronesia? MUSBURGER: It's really scary. You see a part of the world that's helpless to stop this oneoming threat. It doesn't matter if a guy in Kosrae is driving a car or not - the global atmosphere is going to heat up. Micronesian subsistence fisher-

men don't have the ability to go get an office job or get food at Costco. When you see coral reefs dying and sea water infiltrating taro fields, you can't help but be worried and be sad for these people. Some of them are truly facing the threat of needing to leave. There are atolls in the Marshall Islands where evacuation is a real option in a very short timeframe. In the meantime, they are replanting vegetation along the shoreline to stop erosion and using rain catchment to catch rainwater so you don't have salt in it. It's real and it's today. It ean be sad, but you have to be hopeful. For my part, I hope five people in Micronesia see the film and decide to do something locally to try and stop the threats. You just have to hope that enough ean be done globally, that maybe the rest of the planet ean get their act together and try to do something real that will reverse these threats. KWO: How does what you saw in Micronesia compare with what we're facing in Hawai'i? MUSBURGER: For people who live in Hawai'i and Native Hawaiians, the threats are exactly the same here. ... We are still on an island. Sea level rise is very real. Coral bleaching is a very real threat. People here do still eat reef fish. And the heahh of the land and oeean is richly tied to culture for Native Hawaiians for sure. The same threats facing Micronesia are still threats here. And some of the same steps will need to be taken. KWO: How ean Hawai'i residents see the film? MUSBURGER: Probably on the Internet. Distribution beyond Micronesia hasn't been determined yet. When that's decided, information about it will be posted on my web site, www.hdunderh2o.com. More information about the Micronesia Challenge ean be found at www.micronesiachallenge.org. ■ Diana Leone, a veteran journalist, runs the jreeīance writing anel editing business Leone Creative Communication, on Kaua 'i.

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Ben, a Palauan fisherman from the village of Ngetkib t on Babeldaob lsland, pulls I in a catch of rabbitfish in January. It's unknown whether a declining catch of the formerly abundant reef fish is caused in part by climate change. - Pho- , tos: Courtesy of Craig Musburger, HDunderH20

: Below, filmmaker Craig ; Musburger films an eroded S shoreline on Majuro Atoll in ! the Marshall lslands on Jan. I 8. This beach has eroded ! about 1 5 feet due to rising I sea levels and palm trees I arefallinaintothesea.