[Coral-List] #oceanoptimism, sort of...

[Duncan MacRae]

I think we have a wider branding issue for ‘coral reefs’ and the environmental movement as a whole.

For most of the people in the street, mentioning the environment or conservation probably brings imagery of ‘greenies’ from the 70’s.

People are born with a fundamental interest in the environment which needs to be sympathetically nurtured. Proven recently in the response to the recent BBC ‘Planet Earth 2’ series here in the UK, which was unprecedented. The series was perfectly packaged for 9 million (many younger) viewers per programme on its first screening, it was easy to understand, expertly presented with heaps of WOW factor.

To get a change in behaviour from this wider audience, looking after what we have and improving a quality of life needs to be ’sold’ to people with a targeted message (divers, non-divers, presidents - all need a different story). We need to be able to update the brand, messaging and methods to engage the person in the street and the wider private sector.

Perhaps a job for communications, marketing and branding experts rather than us managers, scientists and academics?

My two-bits worth.

Cheers,

Duncan

> On 25 Jan 2017, at 02:37, Peter Sale <sale at uwindsor.ca> wrote:
> 
> Brendan and others on the list,
> Nice to see people looking at ways to get the message out.  I’m sure there are ways to enhance the environmental understanding of divers within their training programs and know that some attempts in this direction are already made.  But I am much more concerned about how we reach people who do not dive, people who have less opportunity to see a reef with their own eyes.  Because we need a much larger change in behavior than could be produced if every diver out there became 100% committed.
> 
> Also, nobody so far has picked up on one of my main points.  The oceans do not have to have reefs, and we do not have to have reefs.  Yet the degradation of reefs is a signal of lots of other things happening that will be necessary for us to continue some quality of life.
> 
> Peter Sale
> 
> From: Douglas Ryan [mailto:stardiverdwr at gmail.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2017 8:54 PM
> To: Brendan Turley <crabtails at gmail.com>; coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov; Peter Sale <sale at uwindsor.ca>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] #oceanoptimism, sort of...
> 
> I actually like that idea a lot.  As a PADI instructor and a teacher of Marine and Environmental Science in a formal setting, I'd love to write that module.
> 
> I reckon PADI would want to do some market research to see if potential customers actually want to pay to sit through such a module, and there would be a substantial cost to updating the course materials and training Course Directors and Instructors to teach it.  On the other hand, it would be great press for PADI and my sense has always been that the organization does love coral and recognizes that they benefit from working toward its protection.
> 
> The recreational scuba diver can be, and in my experience often is, a powerful voice in favor of coral protection and conservation.  I think the recreational diving public would welcome additional training that made them more aware of the threats to the ocean realm and the role they play in combating them.
> 
> On Tue, Jan 24, 2017 at 12:47 PM Brendan Turley <crabtails at gmail.com<mailto:crabtails at gmail.com>> wrote:
> Hi Peter,
> 
> 
> 
> In response to serious matters to address ocean conservation. What about,
> 
> as a small measure, approaching PADI and other certification groups to
> 
> including a conservation module to basic open water diver certification? I
> 
> understand that logistically this could be difficult, but small steps could
> 
> contribute to progress.
> 
> 
> 
> It seems as help from the top governmental levels at least in US is likely
> 
> waning, we should seek out private sector help to secure a shared interest.
> 
> I am not suggesting a novel panaceia, in all likelihood this has been tried
> 
> before, but I thought it would be worth a mention.
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Brendan Turley
> 
> PhD student
> 
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Duncan R. MacRae

MSc, PGCE, OWSI
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas member

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