[Coral-List] 12ICRS and 2015 ISRS Consensus Statements

Sun Nov 8 11:32:35 EST 2015

Dear Terry and all,

It is certainly comforting to know that the 2012 ICRS Consensus Statement has received widespread support. I believe that considerable backing was fairly well established upon its release. When I first read it back then I remember thinking that I had found The Holy Grail and that surely this would have the power to change the paradigm. I seized on it and used many of it's facts as the basis of a flyer I attempted to circulate throughout the diving industry. Fast forward three years and yet another consensus statement has been released. I truly believe that this too has the full support of the coral science community. Perhaps it was unnecessary to ask for a clear show of support. In retrospect, I should have asked if there were any signs of dissent, since that would have been easier to tabulate. Now, having just returned from another DEMA diving convention, I would like to inform all interested parties that, borrowing from Walt Kelly, "We have met the enemy, and he is us". Not that this is in any way a revelation, but the entire concept seems to be a non-starter. Which leaves me with yet another observation and related request. The vital message contained in both these consensus statements is just not resonating even within the community of divers, a constituency you would think would have a natural affinity for these particular forewarnings. How do we change this?  I'm tired of modifying the message in light of the fact that we don't want to offend the sensibilities of those who continue to be unconvinced. I want to get the message out there with some power and a level of certainty that reflects the overwhelming scientific support that you describe. That leaves me with this question. If coral listers were to comprise a hypothetical wish list of methods or strategies designed to create an effective appeal which would have a real chance of breaking through . . . what would it look like?   To end on a more positive note, let me say that one ray of sunshine is the fact that the younger generation of diving professionals seems to get it. The only problem is, I don't know if the world's coral reefs have the time to wait them out.  

Regards,
Steve Mussman
Sea Lab Diving     

----Original Message-----
>From: "Hughes, Terry" <terry.hughes at jcu.edu.au>
>Sent: Nov 5, 2015 6:37 PM
>To: Judith Lang <jlang at riposi.net>, Rafael Magris <rafael.magris at my.jcu.edu.au>
>Cc: "coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov" <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>Subject: [Coral-List] 12ICRS and 2015 ISRS Consensus Statements
>
>Hello Judy,
>
>As of today, 3265 people have endorsed the 2012 ICRS Consensus Statement on coral reefs and climate change. 
>
>It is still accumulating endorsements, see https://secure.jcu.edu.au/app/form/coralcoe/registration.cfm
>
>So, happily, not so shameful..... 
>
>Cheers, Terry
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Judith Lang
>Sent: Friday, 6 November 2015 12:50 AM
>To: Rafael Magris <rafael.magris at my.jcu.edu.au>
>Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>Subject: [Coral-List] New paper...and ISRS Consensus Statements
>
>Dear Rafael Magris,
>Congratulations on the publication of your Ph.D. research in PLoS ONE!  I see that in the introduction, you note: "Reef-building corals are particularly vulnerable to rising sea temperatures and are among the most sensitive organisms to climate change."
>
>Now that you are becoming an expert in conservation planning and warming, I wonder if you could explain to me why so few coral-listers bothered to respond when Steve Mussman wondered whether or not we support the 2015 ISRS consensus statement regarding the perils of climate change and/or its earlier 2012 statement on a multitude of stressors currently affecting reefs.
>
>As Steve noted, the two statements are easily found online.
>https://www.openchannels.org/sites/default/files/ISRS%20Consensus%20Statement%20on%20Coral%20Bleaching%20%26%20Climate%20Change.pdf
>ttp://www.icrs2012.com/Consensus_Statement.htm
>
>And all one would have to do is send a message to the list saying something like:
>I support both ISRS consensus statements.
>Or I support the 2012 ISRS consensus statement.
>Or I support the 2015 ISRS consensus statement.
>Or I don't support the ISRS consensus statements.
>Or is most everyone "too busy" even for that minimal level of response?
>
>Very sadly, Steve has written that, given our collective failure to respond, his working group within the recreational diving industry "is now hesitant to promote the ISRS statement within the diving community in part because it is unclear as to the level of peer-reviewed support with which it has been received." That's a terrible outcome; I am ashamed for us all.
>
>Yours sincerely,
>Judy Lang
>
>On Nov 5, 2015, at 6:00 AM, Rafael Magris <rafael.magris at my.jcu.edu.au> wrote:
>
>> Dear all,
>> 
>> I would like to draw your attention to a paper just published in PLoS 
>> ONE dealing with conservation planning and warming disturbances for 
>> coral reefs.
>> 
>> The paper is fully available on PLoS ONE website:
>> 
>> http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.01408
>> 28
>> 
>> 
>> or through my research gate profile:
>> 
>> https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rafael_Almeida_Magris
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Key advances for the study included:
>> 
>> 1) setting explicit conservation objectives for reefs in different 
>> temperature regimes that require a range of management options (marine 
>> reserve types);
>> 
>> 2) combining retrospective with prospective time-series information on 
>> sea-surface temperature to delineate thermal-stress regimes; and
>> 
>> 3) demonstrating a spatial prioritization that is framed by long-term 
>> conservation objectives for situations in which temporally-static 
>> reserves are more feasible than dynamic ones due to ease of implementation.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Apologies for any cross-posting.
>> 
>> Best,
>> 
>> --
>> 
>> Rafael Magris
>> 
>> PhD Candidate
>> ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University 
>> Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
>> Phone: +61 07 4781 6063
>> Fax: +61 07 4781 6722
>> *http://www.coralcoe.org.au/programs-initiatives/program-6-conservatio
>> n-planning
>> <http://www.coralcoe.org.au/programs-initiatives/program-6-conservatio
>> n-planning>* _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
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