[Coral-List] Local vs. global, or when to hit the bordello

[lesk at bu.edu]

Folks:

RE the argument of whether local conservation efforts matter or not- 
obviously situations vary, and peoples' willingness to put up with 
having their hard-rewon coral communities (thanks, Gene!) wiped out 
very few years also varies.

We need diagnostics that give us a feel for how well reefs are 
responding to relatively local conservation efforts IN SPITE OF global 
drivers, while also monitoring the strength over time of those drivers. 
  That's how you know if what you can do locally will make a difference.

Meanwhile, a lot of the things you can do locally will help other 
aspects of quality of life even if the reefs don't come back to their 
former luster.

So the argument for local action is pretty sound in any event.  You 
just have to have realistic expectations about the outcome.

Les