[Coral-List] Follow-up: NOAA lists 20 new corals

[Steve Mussman]

   Would someone be so kind as to explain the reasons for what appears to be
   considerable resistance to the recently announced ESA listing of 20 coral
   species announced by NOAA?

   Should there have been more, less or is the ESA simply the wrong vehicle?

   If the ESA is viewed as an improper mechanism, what are your suggestions for
   plotting a more effective course designed to protect coral reefs?


   Thanks,

   Steve


     -----Original Message-----
     >From: Vassil Zlatarski
     >Sent: Sep 3, 2014 11:17 PM
     >To: Coral-List Subscribers
     >Subject: [Coral-List] Follow-up: NOAA lists 20 new corals
     >
     >Hi all,
     >
     >Thanks, Jennifer, for your today sobering posting "Follow-up: NOAA
     >lists 20 new corals".
     >
     >It turned out that all process, efforts and costs for these ESA
     >listings initiated by a 2009 petition from Center for Biological
     >Diversity (CBD) to list 83 reef-building coral species came to 20
     >species. The final listing of such reduced number and only threatened
     >species speaks much for the quality of CBD petition. As result, NOAA
     >was obliged to follow the legal requirements and five years to work on
     >ill-originated petition by evaluating the extinction risk of the 83
     >petitioned species and not of all at-risk species that occur in US
     >waters. This week colleagues posted here, in Coral-List, very
     >essential observations and recommendation for future work. Are we
     >learning from the past?
     >
     >Let me remind words from my posting in Coral-List on this subject
     >http://coral.aoml..noaa.gov/pipermail/coral-list/2010-April/008286.html
     >dated April 6, 2010: :
     >
     >"The CBD has on staff 21 lawyers, only 6 biologists, and no
     >specialists on reefs and corals. How to be considered the entire
     >ecosystem and the recent reef history? In CBD was forgotten that the
     >only lessons for the reef evolution come from the past.
     >
     >Dear Coral Friends, do you expect a team of layers acting this way to
     >save the reefs? Everybody in the Coral-List knows how difficult is
     >this task and of course we have to do our best. However, the goal
     >requires most efficient usage of all knowledge and experience. It is
     >not correct to start from the lawyers offices and without any
     >discussion with specialists to install a petition on the railway of
     >legal procedures where proper cure is not possible. [...] Who is
     >paying for all this? We and the coral reefs. Please, no personal
     >attacks, no politics, no undue financial expenses, and no push for
     >ill-founded actions. Let face the whole truth and try what we were
     >discussing here about the role of the scientists for the coral reefs.
     >
     >Hope you will accept my respectful frankness."
     >
     >Cheers always,
     >
     >Vassil
     >
     >Vassil Zlatarski
     >D.Sc. (Biology), Ph.D. (Geology)
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