[Coral-List] Why we are failing to repair coral reefs
Alasdair Harris
al at blueventures.org
Wed Nov 5 07:27:15 EST 2014
Dear all,
Many thanks for raising this important issue.
As Doug mentioned, Blue Ventures is addressing the unmet family planning needs of remote coastal populations in western Madagascar by providing access to contraceptives. We see this is an absolutely fundamental part of supporting these communities in their efforts to manage their coastal resources sustainably. The president of a locally managed marine area supported by Blue Ventures in southern Madagascar expresses the links between these issues in this 1-minute video: http://bit.ly/1nYQ4PX <http://bit.ly/1nYQ4PX>.
The full version of this film about our integrated Population-Health-Environment approach is available at http://bit.ly/1m4oH7b <http://bit.ly/1m4oH7b>. Further information can also be found in this factsheet: http://bit.ly/1qqF8Qv <http://bit.ly/1qqF8Qv>, and in the latest edition of MEAM at http://MEAM.net/MEAM37.pdf <http://www.meam.net/MEAM37.pdf>.
There is strong evidence from the Philippines to demonstrate that integrating voluntary family planning services with coastal resource management efforts generates greater improvements to ecosystem health compared with results from interventions that focus solely on coastal resource management: http://bit.ly/1s3G9dW <http://bit.ly/1s3G9dW>.
1.36 billion people live on tropical coasts (within 100km of the sea), and this population is expected to grow by 45% to 1.95 billion people in 2050 <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140702122430.htm>. At the same time, there are 222 million women <http://www.engenderhealth.org/wtfp/stats.php> in developing countries who would like to be able to space or limit their births but aren't currently using contraceptives. The scale of this issue appears to be staggeringly mismatched by our sector’s engagement and response.
As Naneng said, a major challenge is that reproductive health is often seen as outside of the remit of environmental organisations by both staff and funders, but there is clear evidence that strong links can be built with NGOs that specialise in family planning.
This has been our experience in Madagascar, where we have partnered with Population Services International <http://www.psi.org/work-impact/countries/> to train local women to distribute short-term contraceptives (condoms and pills) in their villages, and with Marie Stopes <http://mariestopes.org/where-in-the-world> to inform communities about the long-acting contraceptives (implants and intra-uterine devices) offered by their mobile outreach teams (medical professionals serving isolated regions) who now visit these areas on a quarterly basis. We integrate reproductive health messages into our environmental education work, and have found this to be an excellent way of engaging more women in fisheries management - another of our conservation goals. Overall, this partnership model has proved to be a cost-efficient way of increasing access to family planning for these communities, addressing one of their priority needs and enhancing the long-term sustainability of their conservation efforts.
Other marine (and terrestrial) conservation organisations in Madagascar are exploring similar partnerships with specialised health agencies, and we have recently established a national Population-Health-Environment network in order to support the widespread adoption of this approach throughout the country. More information including various resources available at http://phemadagascar.org/ <http://phemadagascar.org/>.
With regards to organisations working on similar initiatives in the Coral Triangle, the excellent PATH Foundation Philippines <http://www.pfpi.org/> (which completed the study referenced above) has extensive experience integrating coastal resource management with reproductive health, so it should be well-placed to advise on opportunities for replicating this approach in this area.
Best wishes,
Al
Alasdair Harris PhD
Executive Director
m +261(0)34 313 3987
<http://blueventures.org/our-approach/school-scholarships.html>
f +44(0)800 066 4032
twitter @aarhh
Lot II M 98 H Antsakaviro, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
Sponsor <http://blueventures.org/our-approach/school-scholarships.html> a Malagasy child's education through a Blue Ventures scholarship
><((((º>`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸..•´¯`><((((º>
> On 31 Oct 2014, at 16:00, coral-list-request at coral.aoml.noaa.gov wrote:
>
> Send Coral-List mailing list submissions to
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> make your point; avoid re-sending the entire Digest back to the list.
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Why we are failing to repair coral reefs (Naneng Setiasih)
> 2. Job: Tenure-track Open-rank Position in Marine Ecology at
> Florida International University (Heather Bracken-Grissom)
> 3. Re: Why we are failing to repair coral reefs (Martin Moe)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 00:29:57 +0800
> From: Naneng Setiasih <nsetiasih at coral.org>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Why we are failing to repair coral reefs
> To: Sue Wells <suewells1212 at gmail.com>
> Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID: <49D31B7E-CCD0-472C-B720-B7F01501A057 at coral.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Dear all,
>
> Thanks David to raise the issue of population. Totally agree, with Indonesia's population getting close to 300 million, I always wonder if what ever we are doing now will ever be enough. I am working with a community in a small village, with about 2000 people, 50% of them younger than 17 years old. Their resources, of course already very depleted, and will continue so once this 50% of the people get married, and have another kids.
>
> Many environmental NGOs do not take population issue under their agenda, as it is not "conservation". A totally legitimate reason, However, it does not mean that we can not build a strong link with NGO who does that, and align our program in a "applicable" way. Seems easy, But in reality, when an NGO does do it, they do it outside their ToR, outside their main funding from donors. So, those who actually doing it, doing it more at their personal interests (and thus, they tend not to have a personal social life themselves ;))
>
> When I talked to collegues from funders, who by the way, have different departments within their organization including family planning, health, education, and environment, they said, it is complicated, as many of the departments are "independent".
>
> I do realize it is complicated, but, we HAVE to do this. So I guess, until people's mindset change, what we can do is to seek for other NGOs who are doing social, family planning, and health issue that work in your area, or interested in working in your area, and then align our work with them.
>
> If anybody knows good NGOs/programs about social, family planning, and health issue and are keen to build collaboration with conservation organization in any place in this world, please do share... (in my case, coral triangle)
>
> Regards
>
> Naneng Setiasih
> Coral Triangle Regional Manager
> Coral Reef Alliance
>
>
> On Oct 30, 2014, at 6:01 PM, Sue Wells wrote:
>
>> Peter's very good article in ISRS's newsletter Reef Encounter on what can be
>> done for coral reefs and the subsequent discussion have been very timely.
>>
>>
>>
>> In Peter's recent post, he mentions the effectiveness - or not - of MPAs for
>> coral reefs. There is now a rapidly growing literature reflecting the
>> strenuous efforts around the world to improve MPA management. This is still
>> very far from perfect, but I think we have moved on from the 1990s, when
>> Graeme Kelleher and others (myself included) reviewed the status of MPAs and
>> came to the rather gloomy conclusion about their management as cited by
>> Peter. Next month, the World Parks Congress takes place in Sydney
>> http://worldparkscongress.org/, at which many of the initiatives to create
>> well-managed MPAs, including those for coral reefs, will be presented and
>> debated under the leadership of IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas -
>> Marine. There will be sessions on effective protected area management, on
>> scientifically sound methods for assessing this, and on incentive schemes to
>> promote good management. Managing an MPA effectively is far from easy as
>> many readers of the Coral List will know - in my experience, creating a new
>> MPA is often much easier and leads to more publicity and media attention,
>> than the long hard slog of managing one well.
>>
>>
>>
>> In his article, Peter is also right that MPAs are not the only tool for
>> long-term management and that we need more, broader, integrated approaches
>> such as Marine Spatial Planning. This approach is also growing rapidly -
>> for example, UNESCO has just launched a new guide:
>> http://openchannels.org/msp-eval-guide/homepage?utm_source=OpenChannels+Comm
>> unity+Members
>> <http://openchannels.org/msp-eval-guide/homepage?utm_source=OpenChannels+Com
>> munity+Members&utm_campaign=aec5d9e974-Literature_Update_10_29_2014&utm_medi
>> um=email&utm_term=0_96f5655e1e-aec5d9e974-107711417>
>> &utm_campaign=aec5d9e974-Literature_Update_10_29_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_t
>> erm=0_96f5655e1e-aec5d9e974-107711417
>>
>>
>>
>> Whether we can get good management in place fast enough to prevent their
>> decline is another matter, but the tools are being made available to help us
>> do this.
>>
>>
>>
>> And I would like to support Alina in her posts about population size, and
>> also consumption which I think has to be linked with this if we are to have
>> an equitable world. We absolutely have to be aware of this. In the UK,
>> many conservationists are supporting organisations working on this (e.g.
>> http://www.populationmatters.org/) - that is something we can all do.
>>
>>
>>
>> In the spirit of not wanting to give up just yet, best wishes,
>>
>> Sue
>>
>> Sue Wells
>>
>> 95 Burnside
>>
>> Cambridge CB1 3PA
>>
>> Mob: 07905 715552
>>
>> e-mail: suewells1212 at gmail.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Message: 5
>>
>> Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 15:58:15 -0400
>>
>> From: Peter Sale < <mailto:sale at uwindsor.ca> sale at uwindsor.ca>
>>
>> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Why we are failing to repair coral reefs
>>
>> To: <mailto:coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov,
>> <mailto:gbustamante09 at gmail.com> gbustamante09 at gmail.com
>>
>> Message-ID:
>>
>> <
>> <mailto:OFDEB246F7.B0AB4277-ON85257D7F.006D6C12-85257D7F.006DB65C at uwindsor...c
>> a> OFDEB246F7.B0AB4277-ON85257D7F.006D6C12-85257D7F.006DB65C at uwindsor.ca>
>>
>>
>>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>>
>>
>>
>> Georgina, and coral-liat,
>>
>> Just a quick response to your plea for positive messages.
>>
>>
>>
>> There is an amazingly positive message that we can deliver, that has largely
>> gone neglected. That is that local effort addressing local causes of reef
>> degradation have positive effects, and may even bolster the capacity of the
>> reef system to withstand the effects of climate change by making the reef
>> community more resilient. There is no reason to give up on reducing fishing
>> pressure where reefs are overfished (nearly everywhere), reducing pollution,
>> and channelling coastal development in environmentally sustainable
>> directions. All these actions will reduce the pressures on reefs which
>> cause much of the degradation presently seen.
>>
>>
>>
>> My earlier post to coral list was a call on us (the scientists and
>>
>> managers) to stop being complacent, comfortable with small-scale, temporary
>> improvements in reef condition, and be willing to talk about our failures
>> and work harder for real successes. As one clear piece of evidence of the
>> complacency, I suggest we need look no further than the numerous 'paper'
>> MPAs that exist on reefs. When Graeme Kellerher first coined the term
>> 'paper park' in approx 1990, some 90% of MPAs were effectively unprotected.
>> In the 25 years since, I doubt the 90% has been very much reduced. Yet if
>> just half the unprotected protected areas were to become protected, it would
>> vastly expand the area of reef under real protection. Why have we turned a
>> blind eye for so long, and why are we not now collectively demanding better
>> performance by each of us and by others?
>>
>>
>>
>> There is lots of room for optimism about the fact that we can do something
>> for reefs. There is unfortunately room for pessimism that, until now, we
>> don't seem to care enough. Getting younger people motivated to show us up
>> as the relatively poor performers we have been would be a great achievement,
>> and is a very positive step.
>>
>>
>>
>> Good luck,
>>
>> Peter Sale
>>
>>
>>
>> <mailto:sale at uwindsor.ca> sale at uwindsor.ca @PeterSale3
>>
>> <http://www.uwindsor.ca/sale> www.uwindsor.ca/sale
>> <http://www.petersalebooks.com> www.petersalebooks.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 15:18:34 -0400
> From: Heather Bracken-Grissom <heather.bracken at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Coral-List] Job: Tenure-track Open-rank Position in Marine
> Ecology at Florida International University
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID:
> <CAFWqQwWOVyevKkVHafNC6rciMGu8dtCdoPN9XhRX4aNyewWT4g at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> MARINE ECOLOGIST (Rank Open)- The Department of Biological Sciences at
> Florida International University (biology.fiu.edu) is seeking applicants
> for a tenure track (Open Rank) position in MARINE ECOLOGY. Applicants
> working on ecology of global change, predator-prey interactions and food
> web ecology, biodiversity and ecosystem function, or ecosystem dynamics
> are particularly encouraged to apply.
>
> The Department of Biological Sciences, in the School of the Environment,
> Arts, and Society (seas.fiu.edu) within the College of Arts and Sciences
> (cas.fiu.edu) has 4,700 majors and 120 graduate students in fields
> ranging from cell and molecular biology to evolution and ecology. The
> successful candidate will participate in the Marine Sciences Program
> (marine.fiu.edu), an interdisciplinary program emphasizing research,
> teaching, and outreach in coastal marine sciences. This program is
> housed at FIU's Biscayne Bay Campus in the city of North Miami, and
> currently is home to 12 research laboratories, 2 teaching laboratories,
> wet labs, a mesocosm facility, and running sea water systems. The
> successful candidate will be expected to maintain an externally funded
> research program, supervise graduate students in our Ph.D. program, as
> well as teach undergraduate courses including a general Ecology course
> for Biology and Marine Biology majors and other courses in his/her area
> of expertise. Position is contingent upon funding.
>
> Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged
> university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools
> that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in
> fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law
> and medicine. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its
> mission. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
>
> Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply to Job Opening ID (508719)
> at facultycareers.fiu.edu and attach a cover letter, curriculum vitae,
> and statements of teaching philosophy and research interests in a single
> PDF file. Candidates will be requested to provide names and contact
> information for at least three references, who will be contacted upon
> submission of application. To receive full consideration, applications
> and required materials should be received by November 30th, 2014.
> Review will continue until position is filled.
>
> FIU is a member of the State University System of Florida and an Equal
> Opportunity, Equal Access Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified
> applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to
> race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status,
> protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
>
> --
> Heather Bracken-Grissom, PhD
> Assistant Professor
> Dept. of Biological Sciences
> Florida International University-Biscayne Bay Campus
> 3000 NE 151 Street, MSB-353
> North Miami, Florida 33181, USA
> 305 919-4190 (Phone) 305 919-4030 (Fax)
> *http://www.brackengrissomlab.com/
> <http://heatherbracken.wix.com/brackengrissomlab> *
> heather.brackengrissom at fiu.edu <Valerie.Hall at fiu.edu> www.fiu.edu/~marine
> <http://www.fiu.edu/%7Emarine>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 14:00:47 +0000 (UTC)
> From: Martin Moe <martin_moe at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Why we are failing to repair coral reefs
> To: Sue Wells <suewells1212 at gmail.com>,
> "coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov" <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Message-ID:
> <197292527.68985.1414764047415.JavaMail.yahoo at jws10741.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> We, human beings that is, have developed a civilization thatis very rapidly, extremely rapidly according to the timeline of the naturalworld, destroying the natural ecology and ecosystems of this planet. I can seeabsolutely no way that this statement can be refuted. Like Alina, I can see noway that great negative changes in human civilization in the next 100 years canbe averted. I can only hope that somehow, someway, humanity can mitigate the intensityand extent of this looming disaster and learn to live within the ?carrying capacity of our little planet. Herein South Florida and the Keys we have a population of almost 6 millionresidents and for the entire state of Florida there were 94,7 million visitorsin 2013, many of which came to South Florida and the Keys. Thankfully, the LoopCurrent in the Gulf and the Florida Current along the Keys and South Floridadisperses much of the effluent of our affluent society northward. But still thechemical effluent from the Mississippi to
> the Gulf of Maine pervades ourcoastal waters. For example, here in the USA we generate 290 million scraptires every year. Getting rid of these scrap tires is a problem, but there isanother problem that arises between the new tire and the scrap tire, and thatmay very well be a problem in itself here in South Florida. Maybe this isn?t asbig a problem as I think it could be. I?d be happy to find out that it isn?t.?On storm watercontrol in the Keys, a red flag?Is storm water control in the Keys really necessary? Afterall, It all runs off, or drains off, into the near shore waters eventually anyway. Well, there are two basicreasons to control storm water. First, and probably most apparent to Keysresidents is elimination of temporary flooding of low-lying roads and yards.And second and actually most important to Keys residents is elimination or atleast reduction of polluting nutrients and chemicals that find their way intoour near shore waters. Unfortunately, here in the Keys ther
> e is little we cando about pollutants in runoff water except collect it and somehow inject itdeep into the underground rock. And how contaminated can run off water be?Especially when you consider that It is greatly diluted by strong rains and the?water, water everywhere? environment of the Keys. I?ve become aware of thepotential contribution of automotive tires to this problem and it raises alarge red flag.?There is an industry now that produces a product known ascrumb rubber. Basically it is ground up old automobile and truck tires (about12 million tires each year) for use as mulch, playgrounds, and surfacing forathletic fields. According to the Synthetic Turf Council, synthetic turf hasbeen installed in approximately 4,500 U.S. fields, tracks and playgrounds.Tires are not just rubber, there is a constellation of over 30 chemicals thatare incorporated into the structure of the rubber that composes the tires. Justto name a few; methylene chloride, lead, chromium, acetone, ar
> senic, benzene,cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, isoprene, mercury, methyl isobutyl ketone,naphthalene, nickel, phenol, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,styrene-butadiene, and toluene. Recently, school age soccer players have beencontracting various cancers, primarily non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and of 38 playerswith this cancer, 34 have been goalies, the position that is very often inaggressive contact with the crumb rubber playing surface. Some of the chemicalsin tires are known cancer causing compounds and known endocrine disruptors.?The Keys connection? What happens to automobile and trucktires? They get worn out of course. And they get worn out because contact withthe road abrades the surface of the tire and wears it away until the tread iscompletely worn away and the tire needs to be replaced. And how many vehiclesgo up and down US 1 every day? How much tire rubber gets ground off tires onKeys roads? Eventually, however much it is, the rubber tire dust finds it wayinto the
> near shore waters, along with everything else that we discharge ontoour roads and grounds? How much thought and attention do we pay to what goesonto the roads and lands of the Keys and eventually contaminates our near shorewaters.?So what, you might think, considering the volume of wateraround the Keys and the volumes of water that pass around and through the Keys,a little bit of chemical waste is washed away and can?t hurt anything. Not so.For one thing there is the phenomenon of permanent, temporary pollution. Apollutant may be temporary because it either breaks down (and often thebreakdown products are as toxic or more so than the original chemical) or isflushed away; however, if this pollutant is released into the environment everyday, the even though it is ?temporary?, it is actually permanent because it isalways present in the environment and it?s effects are permanent to the healthof the environment.?My work, and the work of Dave Vaughan at the Summerland MoteTropical
> Research Laboratory on sea urchin (Diadema) culture in regard toecological restoration of our coral reefs, has made us acutely aware of thepossibility of endocrine disruptive and toxic metallic compounds in the nearshore and ground waters of the Keys. Sea urchin larvae are very vulnerable tosuch toxins in extremely low concentrations.. And there are many chemicals andmany marine organisms that are variably susceptible to such toxins. We do notknow what chemicals might be present in our waters, at what concentrations, atwhat times, and what the effects of these chemicals might be, but there are anumber of ?smoking guns? that indicate that problems exist.?The first step in confronting such a problem is not todisregard it because ?nothing can be done about it?; the first step is toresearch it carefully so that the parameters and the extent of the problem isknown, and then develop a proper response from a standpoint of scientificknowledge. Storm water runoff from roads and land
> s may be of greatersignificance to the environmental health of our near shore waters than wecurrently realize, and even though there is a lot on our plate at present, weneed to keep storm water analysis, control, and dispersal in our futureplanning.?Martin Moe
>
> On Thursday, October 30, 2014 8:56 AM, Sue Wells <suewells1212 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Peter's very good article in ISRS's newsletter Reef Encounter on what can be
> done for coral reefs and the subsequent discussion have been very timely.?
>
>
>
> In Peter's recent post, he mentions the effectiveness - or not - of MPAs for
> coral reefs.? There is now a rapidly growing literature reflecting the
> strenuous efforts around the world to improve MPA management.? This is still
> very far from perfect, but I think we have moved on from the 1990s, when
> Graeme Kelleher and others (myself included) reviewed the status of MPAs and
> came to the rather gloomy conclusion about their management as cited by
> Peter.? Next month, the World Parks Congress takes place in Sydney
> http://worldparkscongress.org/, at which? many of the initiatives to create
> well-managed MPAs, including those for coral reefs, will be presented and
> debated under the leadership of IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas -
> Marine.? There will be sessions on effective protected area management, on
> scientifically sound methods for assessing this, and on incentive schemes to
> promote good management.? Managing an MPA effectively is far from easy as
> many readers of the Coral List will know - in my experience, creating a new
> MPA is often much easier and leads to more publicity and media attention,
> than the long hard slog of managing one well.?
>
>
>
> In his article, Peter is also right that MPAs are not the only tool for
> long-term management and that we need more, broader, integrated approaches
> such as Marine Spatial Planning.? This approach is also growing rapidly -
> for example, UNESCO has just launched a new guide:
> http://openchannels.org/msp-eval-guide/homepage?utm_source=OpenChannels+Comm
> unity+Members
> <http://openchannels.org/msp-eval-guide/homepage?utm_source=OpenChannels+Com
> munity+Members&utm_campaign=aec5d9e974-Literature_Update_10_29_2014&utm_medi
> um=email&utm_term=0_96f5655e1e-aec5d9e974-107711417>
> &utm_campaign=aec5d9e974-Literature_Update_10_29_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_t
> erm=0_96f5655e1e-aec5d9e974-107711417
>
>
>
> Whether we can get good management in place fast enough to prevent their
> decline is another matter, but the tools are being made available to help us
> do this.
>
>
>
> And I would like to support Alina in her posts about population size, and
> also consumption which I think has to be linked with this if we are to have
> an equitable world.? We absolutely have to be aware of this.? In the UK,
> many conservationists are supporting organisations working on this (e.g.
> http://www.populationmatters.org/) - that is something we can all do.
>
>
>
> In the spirit of not wanting to give up just yet, best wishes,
>
> Sue
>
> Sue Wells
>
> 95 Burnside
>
> Cambridge CB1 3PA
>
> Mob: 07905 715552
>
> e-mail: suewells1212 at gmail.com
>
>
>
>
>
> Message: 5
>
> Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 15:58:15 -0400
>
> From: Peter Sale < <mailto:sale at uwindsor.ca> sale at uwindsor.ca>
>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Why we are failing to repair coral reefs
>
> To:? <mailto:coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov,
> <mailto:gbustamante09 at gmail.com> gbustamante09 at gmail.com
>
> Message-ID:
>
> ? ? ? ? ? ? ? <
> <mailto:OFDEB246F7.B0AB4277-ON85257D7F.006D6C12-85257D7F.006DB65C at uwindsor..c
> a> OFDEB246F7.B0AB4277-ON85257D7F.006D6C12-85257D7F.006DB65C at uwindsor.ca>
>
> ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
>
>
> Georgina, and coral-liat,
>
> Just a quick response to your plea for positive messages.
>
>
>
> There is an amazingly positive message that we can deliver, that has largely
> gone neglected.? That is that local effort addressing local causes of reef
> degradation have positive effects, and may even bolster the capacity of the
> reef system to withstand the effects of climate change by making the reef
> community more resilient.? There is no reason to give up on reducing fishing
> pressure where reefs are overfished (nearly everywhere), reducing pollution,
> and channelling coastal development in environmentally sustainable
> directions.? All these actions will reduce the pressures on reefs which
> cause much of the degradation presently seen.
>
>
>
> My earlier post to coral list was a call on us (the scientists and
>
> managers) to stop being complacent, comfortable with small-scale, temporary
> improvements in reef condition, and be willing to talk about our failures
> and work harder for real successes.? As one clear piece of evidence of the
> complacency, I suggest we need look no further than the numerous 'paper'
> MPAs that exist on reefs.? When Graeme Kellerher first coined the term
> 'paper park' in approx 1990, some 90% of MPAs were effectively unprotected.
> In the 25 years since, I doubt the 90% has been very much reduced.? Yet if
> just half the unprotected protected areas were to become protected, it would
> vastly expand the area of reef under real protection.? Why have we turned a
> blind eye for so long, and why are we not now collectively demanding better
> performance by each of us and by others?
>
>
>
> There is lots of room for optimism about the fact that we can do something
> for reefs.? There is unfortunately room for pessimism that, until now, we
> don't seem to care enough.? Getting younger people motivated to show us up
> as the relatively poor performers we have been would be a great achievement,
> and is a very positive step.
>
>
>
> Good luck,
>
> Peter Sale
>
>
>
> <mailto:sale at uwindsor.ca> sale at uwindsor.ca? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? @PeterSale3
>
> <http://www.uwindsor.ca/sale> www.uwindsor.ca/sale
> <http://www.petersalebooks.com> www.petersalebooks.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
>
>
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> End of Coral-List Digest, Vol 74, Issue 34
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