[Coral-List] Value of Hawaiian Reefs-why cant we all just get along? (Bastiaan V)

Bastiaan Vermonden bastiaan.vermonden at gmail.com
Thu Nov 24 11:48:54 EST 2011


Dear Steve,

Thanks for your insights I appreciate all advice and input. About those
disheartening realities, those are exactly the reason why I devised this
strategy.

With this strategy improving the reef should increase tourism demand and
therefore be good for business. There is no need to think or care about
future generations.

Also I wanted to use a measurement which can be used to show small
improvements so that even small steps can be rewarded. For example
currently if you want to become a top diving destination you either have to
have a great reputation or have something really amazing. However if you
look on my map small differences can alter consumption decisions. So this
means that if a country, marine park etc realizes a small increase in fish
biomass it might already mean they are better than their neighbor and thus
result in more tourism demand.

This competition is the most important aspect of my idea. I think that
competition can make people do crazy but also amazing things. For example
lets look at sports, why do people for example train their whole life to
run faster and faster to win the Olympics?

If you look at it rationally it is utterly ridiculous (I don't mean to
offend anyone) but it is well harnessed competitive drive. The tools they
use to create that competition are races where individuals measure
themselves to their nearest competitors and a stopwatch to compare their
times to the fastest running time ever achieved either in the region,
nationally at college level or at olympic level or whatever.

Also an olympic runner does not immediately start competing with the best,
first he starts competing with those who are closest to his abilities and
he will work/run his way to the top. Most reefs are now heavily degraded so
pretty much everyone would start in the "little leagues" Maybe its a bit
crude but for example if we have an obese person in a running race we don't
expect him/her to win but if it is against only other obese people then
that changes everything.

So I believe that if we give destinations the tools to compete they will do
so, and instead of competing for a gold metal and honor they will compete
for money and business.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRxs379Vq_k&feature=related

Bastiaan


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