[Coral-List] Concerns over ICRS, 2021 (Austin Bowden-Kerby)

[Chelsie Counsell]

Dear Austin & List,

Another option could be a virtual conference for ICRS 2021. We had great
success with Global Coral Reef Week 2020 - while we had hoped to have
regional hubs, our conference was entirely virtual and we had 2,700
subscribers from across the globe. GCRW (www.coralreefweek.org) was
organized entirely by volunteers with a budget of <$1,000. Imagine how
amazing a virtual coral reef conference could be with the resources of
ICRS.

All the best,
Chelsie

><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Chelsie Counsell, PhD
Assistant Professor of Marine Biology
College of Arts & Sciences
Fairfield University
1073 North Benson Road
Fairfield, CT  USA    06824
chelsiew12 at gmail.com


Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2020 11:21:33 +1200
> From: Austin Bowden-Kerby <abowdenkerby at gmail.com>
> To: coral list <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Subject: [Coral-List] Concerns over ICRS, 2021
> Message-ID:
>         <CAL0VXCU_LzGh7tfpU_9den_kkbxqJJEZBPQ4Ap9GfXV=
> Qae7yA at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> Dear List,
>
> I hesitate to write this, but seriously- are we kidding ourselves?  To plan
> for ICRS to be held in July 2021 seems absurd, based on the many scientific
> medical reports and the informed opinions of the experts, and despite
> attempts by certain leaders and the media to deny the facts for economic or
> political reasons. The experts tell us that there is a strong chance that
> the pandemic will still be raging by next July, and with all the tremendous
> energy required to pull off ICRS, is it really wise for the global coral
> reef community to forge ahead like this- only to have all of these efforts
> come to naught- yet again?   Am I the only one here who feels this way?
>
> For perspective, I am writing this from the South Pacific, where we are
> sealed off in a COVID-19 free bubble- no community spread, and only a few
> cases intercepted at the border and in strict quarantine.  At least for us
> in this region we may not be able to emerge from our secure bubble for a
> long time, perhaps until the virus is as rare as SARS1?  Presently it is
> very difficult to get flights in and out, and on returning we are required
> to be in government quarantine for two weeks- which might be expanded to
> three.  Barring some miracle cure or long lasting effective vaccine, ICRS
> is certainly not going to happen for us unless it is pushed back to 2022 or
> 2023
>
> Kind regards, and stay safe,
>
> Austin
>
> Austin Bowden-Kerby, PhD
> Corals for Conservation
> Sustainable Environmental Livelihoods for the Future
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> >
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>
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> http://permacultureglobal.com/projects/1759-sustainable-environmental-livelihoods-farm-Fiji
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