[Coral-List] New Year's Resolutions

Observatorio Pro Arrecifes Coralinos icri.colombia at gmail.com
Thu Jan 12 16:56:13 EST 2017


Dear Coral-Listers,

Interesting messages on the Coral-List have guided New Year's Resolutions:

1)	More scientists involved in scientific activism to improve coral
reef conservation effectiveness.  Ethics is not anymore related to be
indifferent in order to get funding and high publications index, but
to provide reliable pertinent information to the public and top
decision makers.  We also should set example of how people must behave
accordingly.

2)	It is needed to give people and politicians the information they
need to understand why coral reef conservation is relevant to their
lives. And that their action will do something important for THEM as
well as others.

3)	Scientists better continue to sound the alarm as loud and clear to
get effective international action on the root causes of Climate
Change/Global Warming, while at the same time pointing at the
relevance to reduce local threats.

4)	Although, it is a scientific issue, to estimate the real impact of
the local and global threats it may be influenced by political
priorities.  Thus, our pertinent scientific information should be
delivered to the public and decision-makers transparently, about the
right ecological, social and economic costs of coral reef degradation.

5)	The coral reef survival depends upon local and global decisions.
According to different time scales, local threats may mean the
destruction of coral reefs in ecological time scales even in few days
or months while the global threats may last years.

For instance, Colombia has signed many international environmental
agreements.  However, the political priorities are allowing the
destruction of resilient coral reefs to build deeper and larger
Channels to access the Cartagena Bay. It would take few daily dredging
operations to destroy a coral reef ecosystem that lasted more than 300
years to be formed with massive (>3 meters in diameter) healthy
(50%CCA)  coral colonies. While 100% ecosystem restoration will last
more than three centuries considering optimal environmental
conditions. Galvis and Galvis (2016) estimated an environmental cost
of $81 Million of USD. Thus,  it is worthy to avoid the destruction of
a resilient coral reef for extra infrastructure where there are other
alternatives PLEASE JOIN THE PETITION:
https://secure.avaaz.org/es/petition/Gobierno_Colombia_Presidente_Juan_Manuel_Santos_Salve_y_Proteja_CoralesBahiaCartagena_Varadero_Colombia_ArrecifesCoral/?aFZTTkb

All the Best,

Nohora Galvis

Directora Observatorio Pro Arrecifes
Fundación ICRI Colombia
Coordinadora Red Nacional de Observadores Voluntarios del Arrecife (RENOVO)

Facebook.com/ICRI.COLOMBIA

Twitter @ArrecifesCoral e @ICRIcolombia


More information about the Coral-List mailing list