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<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Dear
Mark,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I
don't see that there is too much of a difference of opinion here. Thinking
globally and acting locally is a good call (even if clichéd). No one
would seriously dispute that. As someone who also works in Indonesia, I am
under no illusion as to the scale of "local" problems that face the reef
resources of that developing country.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>T<SPAN
class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>he one
viewpoint/opinion that I would dispute is the negative effect of drawing
attention to issues like climate change (which I guess is the major point of
your email). </FONT></SPAN>The urgency and scale of the response to that
particular issue (as with blast fishing and water quality) would militate that
it would be very negligent to sit on one's hands and not make clear expert
statements or take action on the issue. Recent effective deliberations on
climate impacts and solutions (or the lack thereof) in the Hague emphasize this
point. Unless we are clear about the potential impacts of climate change,
the policy makers at the international level will find it hard to take the
urgent action required to reduce the scale of future damage. If you think
telling them that climate change represents a serious threat to coral reefs
is tricky, try asking them to define a forest for you!</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>So -
to the issue: "how does one present expert advice on the problems
that face reef systems." Controlling headlines would be useful but is
impossible. Equally, and I think more damaging, the appearance of
scientists quibbling over which stress is "bigger and badder" may also
lead to non-productive outcomes and headlines. I think we have to go
beyond these issues and provide clearer responses to those trying to find
solutions (and loopholes!). </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>As you
and I have discussed before, weighing up immediate human needs versus
sustainable reef usage presents a similar (confusing to some) set of
arguments. Similar "reasons" for inaction might also eventuate from
this situation. Equally, negligence on Greenhouse by developed countries
like Australia, Europe and the USA may provide a </FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>convenient excuse
not to take action on local reef issues in Indonesia. However, as we know,
this argument does </FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>not present a water tight or even logical argument for
inaction. Hence a greater role for champions of reef protection such as
yourself. Rather than dream of controlling headlines, you should be ready
with the argument that climate change will mean that reefs will be even more
vulnerable to local scale threats than before. That there is a greater not
reduced need for action. In the same breathe, you may also ask why
Indonesia is so intransient and impotent when it comes to real political action
at the international level against countries like Australia and the USA.
</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000></SPAN><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>So if we are into take home messages
- avoiding mention or watering down statements on issues at either end of
the spectrum of problems facing reefs is no solution. The
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>only solution is to make sure that policy makers realise that
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>climate change will make the management of local reef stressors more and
not less urgent. Given the coherence of assaults from global and local levels,
immediate and appropriate action at all these levels is urgently required.
</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Regards,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Ove</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=670340019-03122000><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN
class=670340019-03122000> </SPAN>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
Mark and Arnaz Erdmann [mailto:flotsam@manado.wasantara.net.id]<BR><B>Sent:</B>
Saturday, 2 December 2000 5:45 PM<BR><B>To:</B> Ove Hoegh-Guldberg;
fspsuva@is.com.fj; coral-list@coral.aoml.noaa.gov<BR><B>Subject:</B> The trouble
with high profile reef science<BR><BR></DIV></FONT></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE>Colleagues,<BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>While
I certainly commend Ove Hoegh-Guldberg's recent response to Austin
Bowden-Kerby's "reality check" (ie, Ove's response that the added stress of
climate change and coral bleaching should only further INCREASE our efforts to
protect reefs from more localized stresses like pollution and destructive
fishing practices), I fear that the high profile science reports that emerged
from the Bali conference (and bleaching is certainly chief amongst them) WILL
HAVE the effect of drawing attention and resources away from managing
important localized threats to reefs in some important cases. This problem is
potentially acute in many developing countries (those blessed with the
majority of the world's reefs), and I am already dealing with it in Indonesia.
Because I believe this effect is unintentional and perhaps not obvious to
those of you who are based in developed countries, allow me to briefly
illustrate with an Indonesian response to two high profile issues raised in
Bali: coral bleaching and reef restoration science. But first, a quick
background on eastern Indonesia's
reefs:<BR><BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>As
with Austin's comments, the majority of the mega-diverse reefs in eastern
Indonesia are neither touristed nor covered in green water or mud. Moreover,
the major threat to these reefs in the near term is NOT coral bleaching - it
is, undeniably, blast fishing. There is absolutely no debate on when blasting
will effect these reefs (NOW), whether reefs can adapt to blasting (THEY
CANT), or the scale of the problem (MASSIVE). If blasting at current rates is
continued on eastern Indonesia's reefs, there will be no reefs left to bleach
in 20 years. Perhaps most importantly, this localized reef threat DOES HAVE
local solutions - though local governments are often notoriously loath to
enact these
solutions.<BR><BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>Reef
conservationists and managers working in eastern Indonesia are all very much
aware of the scale of this problem, and are working desperately to protect
what reefs are still left. Because the solution to blast fishing includes
enforcement and education, this inevitably demands working with local and
national government officials to acknowledge the problem and dedicate
resources to
it.<BR><BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>The
problem with the high profile science reports streaming out of Bali is that
they provide an excuse for inaction to these same government officials. Within
a week of returning home from Bali, I was confronted by several bureaucrats
questioning the importance of our enforcement efforts in the Bunaken National
Marine Park, given that the "REAL" problem with Bunaken's reefs was and will
be coral bleaching caused by climate change caused by pollution from the US
and Europe -which they have no power to influence. While there certainly may
be some future truth in this statement, it is highly counterproductive to our
efforts here. And while I have the resources and backing to counter these
opinions, a small conservation NGO working to protect reefs in other areas
might
not.<BR><BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>A
similar problem arises from press reports about reef restoration in the
Florida Keys - where a project to restore a single ship grounding site might
reach upwards of US$1 million. While such expensive techniques are clearly
inappropriate for restoring the massive expanses of blast-annihilated rubble
fields in Indonesia, the publicity accorded these techniques can shift
attention from important practical solutions aimed at saving existing reefs to
ill-conceived notions of big money development projects to restore the
destroyed reefs. The western-educated technocrats in many developing country
governments (certainly those in SE Asia) LOVE the technological "fix" for
societal/environmental problems, and are MUCH more interested in applying for
a large development bank loan to restore reefs than in more cost-effective
enforcement and education efforts to protect remaining reefs. Just last week,
I read a press release heralding a brand-new Indonesian national project to
restore her reefs using proven techniques developed in the west. Intrigued, I
read on, only to find that the new project will use piles of old tires. Lots
of
them....<BR><BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>My
take-home message would thus be that for those of you involved in high-profile
science, please think carefully about how your headlines might negatively
effect important efforts in reef research and conservation in developing
countries - or if these headlines are even applicable/important to the vast
majority of the world's reefs. As one journalist recently writing to the coral
list said, the REAL message from all of this is that reefs are in deep
poop for a wide variety of reasons, and we need to immediately combat the
poop. For developed countries, that might mean focusing on reducing emmissions
and non-point source runoff and insisting on eco-labelled food and aquarium
products, while for developing countries it includes stopping destructive
fishing and overfishing practices, changing bad land-use practices like
clear-cutting that lead to massive erosion and sedimentation, and perhaps most
importantly, educating/empowering local communities to properly manage their
own reef resources. The old environmentalist manifesto of "think globally, act
locally" is ever-more resonant today...<BR><BR>Best,<BR>Mark<BR><BR>Mark V.
Erdmann, PhD<BR>Marine Protected Areas Advisor<BR>Natural Resources Management
Project<BR>North Sulawesi Office<BR><BR>PO Box 1020<BR>Manado, SULUT
95010<BR>Indonesia<BR>Phone: (62) 811-433857<BR>FAX: (62)
431-842321<BR><BR><BR>Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 05:25:40 +1000 <BR>From: Ove
Hoegh-Guldberg <oveh@uq.edu.au> <BR>Subject: RE: The Trouble with our
Ocean<BR>Dear Austin,<BR>Interesting thoughts. You are right in saying that
the research we need now <BR>should largely focus on solutions. However, I
disagree with that your feeling <BR>that climate change and coral bleaching
are stealing the show and are an excuse <BR>for funding scientists etc. As has
been stated in various places, climate <BR>change represents a threat to reefs
on a scale unheralded in recent times. The <BR>recent observation that 16% of
living reef died in the 1998 thermal event is a <BR>hint of the scale of the
issue - not even Crown-of-Thorns never ate 16% of reefs <BR>in a single year!
While saying this, I also feel it is important not to forget <BR>the other
urgent issues that face reefs. While climate change may distract (yet <BR>must
be also understood), we do need to consider how it will modify the
<BR>resilience of reefs faced by other stresses. As has also been stated
variously, <BR>rising sea temperatures are likely to make reefs even more
sensitive to other <BR>stresses. This said, the added stress of climate change
should increase not <BR>decrease our concern and efforts to manage/protect
reefs from the other more <BR>local scale stresses (pollution, nutrients,
destructive fishing etc.).<BR>Regards,<BR>Ove<BR>Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
<BR>Director, Centre for Marine Studies <BR>University of Queensland <BR>St
Lucia, 4072, QLD<BR>Phone: +61 07 3365 4333 <BR>Fax: +61 07 3365 4755
<BR>Email: oveh@uq.edu.au <BR><FONT color=#0000ff><U><A
href="http://www.marine.uq.edu.au/ohg/index.htm"
eudora="autourl">http://www.marine.uq.edu.au/ohg/index.htm</A><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></FONT></U>-
-----Original Message----- <BR>From: owner-coral-list@coral.aoml.noaa.gov
<BR>[<A href="mailto:owner-coral-list@coral.aoml.noaa.gov%5DOn"
eudora="autourl"><FONT
color=#0000ff><U>mailto:owner-coral-list@coral.aoml.noaa.gov]On</A></FONT></U>
Behalf Of FSP Fiji - <BR>Suva Office <BR>Sent: Tuesday, 21 November 2000 9:35
AM <BR>To: 'coral-list-daily@coral.aoml.noaa.gov' <BR>Subject: RE: The Trouble
with our Ocean<BR><BR><BR>> "From an economic standpoint, I'm not sure that
a <BR>>live reef is worth much more than a dead one.<BR><BR>A reality check
from the Pacific Islands:<BR><BR>The fact is that most reefs of the planet
never experience tourism of any <BR>sort, nor do they have clouds of green
water or mud covering them. What <BR>most reefs do experience is subsistence
fishing pressure, and a fair number <BR>of reefs also experience commercial
fishing by local people with boats and <BR>access to local markets.<BR><BR>In
my opinion, the greatest economic contribution of reefs to the planet is
<BR>that reefs feed and provide for families... reefs keep societies alive.
<BR>From this perspective, overfishing/destructive fishing by reef-dependent
<BR>communities is a far greater immediate threat to the health of reefs than
<BR>any other factor. If fishing communities are the primary threat to coral
<BR>reefs, and as these communities own/control most (70%+?) of the reefs on
<BR>this planet, shouldn't more effort be made to empower this group that hold
<BR>the future of reefs in their hands?<BR><BR>The emphasis on climate change,
bleaching, and the like tend to steal the <BR>show. These issues may attract
funding and interset the scientific <BR>community, but they are much less
practical than focusing on empowering <BR>communities to manage their own
resources. Could saving reefs be more of a <BR>exercise in cultural
understanding and respect for the intellegence of <BR>rural fishing
communities than a research driven one?<BR><BR>>From where I live and work,
it appears that a lack of global vision and <BR>educational prejudice on the
part of the scientific community are as much a <BR>problem as any physical
threat.<BR><BR>Austin Bowden-Kerby <BR>Coral Gardens Initiative <BR>Foundation
for the Peoples of the South Pacific<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>