[Coral-List] Chagos MR and Mauritius

tim ecott timecott at hotmail.com
Wed Sep 22 12:19:30 EDT 2010


Subject: RE: Chagos MPA and Mauritius


Would anyone who has done any reef research in Mauritius care to share their input on the likely results of Mauritius being given responsibility for the management of so-called 'eco-hotels' in Chagos? Or on the track record of Mauritius in managing it's own natural resources? Having spent twenty plus years travelling and working in Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar and Comoros as well as the littoral nations of the SW Indian Ocean I am amazed that anyone would suggest voluntarily handing over anything remotely 'natural' to the safekeeping of the Mauritian government. The evidence for sustainability, ecological responsibility and marine management does simply not exist. I am afraid the time for keeing quiet about these matters is at an end and whilst it may seem politically incorrect to name and shame there are clear indicators out there as to who should and should not be entrusted with the most important ecological reserve in the region - and one of the most significant coral reserves worldwide.



Tim Ecott is the author of 
Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World (Penguin) and 
Vanilla: Travels in Search of the Luscious Substance (Penguin)
Stealing Water (Sceptre)


 
> From: coral-list-request at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Subject: Coral-List Digest, Vol 25, Issue 21
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:00:02 -0400
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> Today's Topics:
> 
> 1. Re: Coral Reef Curmudgeons (Ulf Erlingsson)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:15:00 -0400
> From: Ulf Erlingsson <ceo at lindorm.com>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Coral Reef Curmudgeons
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID: <7034DBDB-BE20-4990-953F-21FAE0F3AC38 at lindorm.com>
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> 
> This is not about coral, but it is crucial for the future of science.
> 
> How shall we evaluate research?
> 
> Already the old Greeks knew that it was the message, not the 
> messenger, that we shall pay attention to. So how comes that so many 
> today focus on where the message comes from? It is and remains 
> irrelevant.
> 
> The fact is that scientists depend on funding, and funding is not 
> results-neutral in many cases. Thus, the bias is more likely to be in 
> what scientific inquiry is carried out (or not carried out), than in 
> the results that are published. If we disregard results from a 
> certain sector a priori, we are back to the Dark Ages...
> 
> All results have to be critically evaluated based on merits, without 
> regard for who wrote it.
> 
> 
> On 2010-09-21, at 13:14, Dr. Elaine M. Abusharbain wrote:
> 
> > Dear Coral Listers,
> > I am not a biological or coral reef scientist, but as I science 
> > educator
> > I see these problems as important in science ed. Are American 
> > Enterprise
> > Institute scientists really scientists? They were funded $ 23 
> > million by
> > Exxon to produce climate change science. Is this stuff peer reviewed
> > when it comes from a think tank? I don't think so. The public sees
> > scientists with PhD's doing research and considers it valid science.
> > How can you blame the public for not understanding this subtle but 
> > huge
> > difference? Yet who is on NPR just about every day posing as a 
> > reputable
> > view on all kinds of matters including climate change.
> > Scientists have produced NAS, IPPC etc reports, years ago. In my
> > dealings with nonbiology majors in college and most biology majors, 
> > they
> > are unaware of these kinds of influences nor the scientific reports 
> > even
> > though they understand the importance of peer review.
> > There is much to educate about and not enough science educators out
> > there who take on the charge. Our media is very controlled if even
> > biology students are unaware of these kinds of reports (until they 
> > take
> > ecology of course and many won't)
> > Thanks, I am on the list to become educated in coral science.... so I
> > usually keep to myself.
> 
> 
> 
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