A different kind of business trip

I’ve traveled on business for HSBC a number of times, but my recent assignment was very different. I was on official business, no doubt about it–airfare, board and lodging were billed to the bank and the two weeks I spent "working" was on official company time– except that I did not report to a regular office or donned my daily corporate attire.

As an HSBC environment fellow assigned to Peru for two weeks, my office was the Andes River; my daily commute were motorized canoes; my load were the barest of necessities; and my task was to help study aquatic biodiversity in the Amazon basin.

Images of ancient civilizations, snow-capped Andes mountains and the Amazon jungle filled my mind when I learned of my successful application to the 2002 HSBC Environmental Fellowship Program–probably the most ambitious and exciting staff volunteer program the bank (or any company I know of, for that matter) has embarked on. I was one of seven (of 26) Filipino staff applicants selected by Earthwatch, an international environmental organization.

The Earthwatch approach of promoting sustainable conservation by creating partnerships among scientists, the general public, educators and business is unique. It is also consistent with the bank’s focus on education and the environment as well as provides extensive opportunities for staff to have a sense of ownership in the bank’s projects, to get involved and not to remain as mere onlookers.

First impressions

To prepare for the trip, I read up on South American and completed a required checklist on things like "I can hike three hours with a 40-pound pack over rough terrain."

Panic began to set in but family and friends reminded me of the great adventure ahead.

Next thing I knew, I was on a plane to Los Angeles, en route to Lima, the capital of Peru.

My first impressions were very cold weather and a modern airport. I took a local flight to the jungle city of Pucallpa. This was the rendezvous point for the group of seven volunteers and three Earthwatch staff. There was a good mix of Peruvians, Americans, Brits, a Maltese (also from HSBC) and a Filipino (myself).

The principal investigator of the scientist leading the field research was Hernan Ortega, a professor from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima. He also heads the Ichthyology Department of the Museo de Historia Natural in the capital.

Getting there

The fun part was getting to the very remote towns where we undertook the field research. We endured 12-hour backbreaking dusty rides in 4 x 4 trucks. I imagined nice and comfortable SUVs. Instead, we got second-hand pick-up trucks without aircon or radio. We took turns sitting at the back of the trucks, either on top of our bags or on a plank of wood.

We also had politicas riding with us, carrying automatic rifles and wearing bulletproof vests. For the nth time, I wondered what I got myself into. At one point, we found the prospect of an airlift by chopper due to security concerns. This got us quite excited but police escort was arranged at the last minute and we braved the rough roads once again.

In the towns of Puerto Bermudez and Puerto Inca, we experienced very simple living and Spartan accommodations (I once left my room open and chickens moved in!). Roads were untouched by asphalt or cement and we had no electricity for a few days. On most days, we blissfully had a few hours of power in the evenings. The toilets, of course, could be the subject of a totally separate narrative.

The Earthwatch expedition, Rivers of the Peruvian Andes, covers the Pachitea River watershed along elevational gradients from small streams to large rivers. Our daily routine was rides on motorized canoes or jungle hikes to reach the sampling sites, spending about six hours under the sun.

Our activities mainly involved collecting specimen of fish, plankton and invertebrates in river and stream tributaries of the great Amazon. The goal was to describe the current status of aquatic communities and their habitats, to further illuminate the importance of these resources to human communities.

The results of my Earthwatch project would be incorporated into the parallel education and resource management programs of a five-year regional research initiative in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. They will also make their way into national-level management and policy areas. Finally, the results will be disseminated among the national and international scientific communities through publications and presentations at professional conferences.

No regrets

When it was over, I had no regrets and totally enjoyed the experience. I’ve always wanted time to think and enjoy the "basics". I got all these and so much more–riding through the Amazon jungle, looking over the Machu Picchue or the lost city of the Incas, collecting over a thousand fish specimen and even catching piranhas.

Peru is beautiful and the people, great. It has a very varied landscape, from the coastal desert and bare cliffs in the west to the Andes mountain range that snakes through the country like a spine to the Amazonian jungle, which I am told, covers more than half of eastern Peru.

I am back in the jungle that is Makati and am still working on the action points from my highly successful "business trip". As an HSBC fellow, work doesn’t stop after my last roll of film was consumed in Peru. I have become one of the bank’s ambassadors for a genuinely worthwhile cause. The time I spent with people who have incredible dedication and passion to make a difference was a humbling experience.

Through the $550 grant included in the program, I have yet another exceptional opportunity to make my own mark in the local community.