[Coral-List] Bleaching

[Christine Ward-Paige]

Hi Austin,

Thanks for this important dialogue. I believe I may have some unique
perspective on the investment/innovation/conservation side of things.

I'm a marine scientist turned tech founder/entrepreneur. With a PhD and 20+
years experience in marine conservation research, I'm often the only
ecologically trained person in most ocean/blue incubator/investor spaces
that I'm in. I have seen first hand how these decisions that you've
described play out. While I am excited to see the swell of well-intentioned
investment, a lot of the interest focuses on companies/solutions that make
little ecological sense, or are even detrimental. Without the background
knowledge, it is easy to be misinformed by persuasive founders who are also
usually well-intentioned. I can't tell you how many times I've heard
business leaders say "we need to pick the brains of ocean scientists to
develop new innovations for the ocean" and my response is always "the ocean
is super complex compared to business, in my opinion it makes way more
sense to give marine scientists business tools".

Regarding the value of restoration efforts and investment: I see it as a
problem-solution-business-location problem. For example, (and as you
mentioned) artificial reef/habitat solutions receive a lot of buy-in from
the public, government, investors, etc., including in Canada where we do
not have shallow coral reefs. In my experience, outside of the very narrow
conditions where actual coral reefs grow, artificial reef/habitat solutions
are often sold/used in habitat offsetting when damage has been done
elsewhere, like an infill or a pier, and the proponent needs to 'replace'
the biodiversity/biomass that was lost. The buyer is the
business/organization that did the damage (they have the problem) and the
artificial reef/habitat company has the solution. The government
accepts/endorses the artificial habitat as a suitable offset. The
artificial reef/habitat is then plunked down somewhere, often on a specific
hardbottom habitat type that can support the weight of it, and then stuff
grows on it. That's the value, something grows and therefore can quickly
offset biodiversity/biomass loss from the development (the key is 'quickly'
so the proponent doesn't get fined for not 'replacing' what was lost).
Ecologically speaking, many of these sites could be likened to putting a
landfill in a wetland, where the new habitat attracts new species and
therefore increases biodiversity/biomass compared to the natural
diversity/biomass and therefore is "successful" (even though it replaced
the natural habitat). Painting this type of quick-fix restoration and
well-designed conservation/restoration with the same brush may not make
much sense to you or others in this community.

I've been working to try to better define and track success in the
blue/ocean space, so that activities are accountable and placed on a
continuum of bad to good that is informed by ecological (and social)
principles. I believe this will be a prudent way to help investors,
decision makers, and businesses make informed decisions in the future.

Regarding calling out people/orgs/biz's by name: I don't recommend this. I
met a scientist that was being sued by an artificial reef/habitat company
because they published a study that provided evidence that did not support
their product. Tread carefully.

I'm super keen to see more marine scientists lead the blue/ocean economy
sectors, so please feel free to reach out to discuss.

Cheers,
Christine.

On Wed, Apr 20, 2022 at 9:37 AM Austin Bowden-Kerby via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

> Thanks Steve,
>
> I read your post again and sorry, I did not catch the points of agreement
> you were actually giving.  Thanks- I do appreciate your sentiments.
>
> I realized this long ago:  A burned man becomes sensitive, even to the
> light of the sun!
>
> What burns me up the most is Australia and the crazy and bizarre things
> that are getting extremely very well funded to 'save" the reefs there.
> Coral planting robots, COTS killing robots, 3-D printed corals to replace
> those dead, giant fans to cool the reef, cloud brightening, etc. What a big
> waste and distraction.  Noone wants to mention these white elephants- not
> even me, so I suppose that I am the real coward.  I also applied to those
> funds and I was turned down because my ideas were not innovative enough!
> It looks like the real purpose of these crazy schemes is to distract away
> from the real issues. I have heard that the fossil fuel industry is firmly
> attached to the GBR Foundation.
>
> https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/great-barrier-reef-foundation-grant-funding-fossil-fuels/
>
>
> I am dismayed by the many restoration practitioners which continue to plant
> corals in the face of the approaching heat waves- as if the corals were
> invincible- much like planting trees in the face of an approaching massive
> firestorm.  I no longer think that this is the time for restoration, rather
> it is the time to rescue as much biodiversity as possible and secure it in
> the field where the heat will be less severe.  So we focus on local
> translocation, knowing that the bleaching resistant corals we are moving
> into cooler waters have a higher chance of surviving.  Better than watching
> the corals cook on the hottest nearshore reefs.  It is time to act on this
> now as it is time sensitive.
>
> Vinaka,
>
> Austin
>
>
>
> Austin Bowden-Kerby, PhD
> Corals for Conservation
> P.O. Box 4649 Samabula, Fiji Islands
>
>
> https://www.corals4conservation.org
> https://www.facebook.com/C4Conservation
> TEDx talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PRLJ8zDm0U
>
> https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/emergency-response-to-massive-coral-bleaching/
> <
> https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/emergency-response-to-massive-coral-bleaching/
> >
>
>
> Teitei Livelihoods Centre
> Km 20 Sigatoka Valley Road, Fiji Islands
> (679) 938-6437
> http:/www.
> <
> http://permacultureglobal.com/projects/1759-sustainable-environmental-livelihoods-farm-Fiji
> >
> teiteifiji.org
>
> http://permacultureglobal.com/projects/1759-sustainable-environmental-livelihoods-farm-Fiji
>
> https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/happy-chickens-for-food-security-and-environment-1/
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 20, 2022 at 1:19 AM Steve Mussman <sealab at earthlink.net>
> wrote:
>
> >
> > Hi Austin,
> >
> >
> > I am opposed to calling anyone out on list. I’ve done it before, but no
> > longer believe it is an effective way to affect change. Better to raise
> > questions about specific policies than to resort to what could be viewed
> as
> > an ad hominem attack. To set the record straight, I was actually trying
> to
> > be careful not to cast doubt on the entire coral restoration field.
> Please
> > read my post again. What I wrote (in response to John Ogden’s post) was
> > that “some of the most prominent and well-funded projects” are missing
> out
> > on what John referred to as a “potent political opportunity” to help
> build
> > the consensus needed to pressure national governments to deal effectively
> > with climate change and other major stressors. Perhaps Les’s point
> reveals
> > the essence of our discordance (if there still is any). Commenting that
> > “reef restoration under the terms described by John Ogden can be very
> > positive, though it carries the risk of engendering complacency. All
> > solutions divorced from root causes do”.  For I don’t view restoration as
> > a solution, but as a tool - and I don’t understand why any restoration
> > project would choose to divorce or distance itself from root causation.
> >
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Steve
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 4/17/22, 10:04 PM, Austin Bowden-Kerby <abowdenkerby at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Dear Bill and Steve,
> >
> >
> > Please name the restoration efforts being promoted as quick fix
> solutions-
> > if you know of any please point them out!  Here and now- please!  Don't
> be
> > shy, or polite- if any org or institution is misleading people by saying
> > that they have a quick fix solution to coral reef decline that makes
> > climate action less urgent, single them out, but please don't cast doubt
> on
> > the entire coral restoration field.  Even if not intentioned and with
> your
> > disclaimers, we have been burned so many times in the past that any heat
> at
> > all is excruciating!
> >
> >
> > I have on this list recently called out at least three publications for
> > reporting on the decimated reefs of Kiribati with a positive twist!  They
> > all celebrated a so-called recovery and/or evidence of adaptation in the
> > titles, while glossing over the horrific reality of the local extinction
> of
> > >200 coral species, and a total community shift on the one 'recovering'
> > atoll- from Acopora dominated before the 30 months of bleaching over 5
> > years, to a coral community dominated by Porites rus.  Total species
> > shift, low biodiversity, and mass extinction of species, and they glossed
> > it all over!  This amounts to misleading the world that coral reefs will
> be
> > able to cope with climate change just fine!  And so now the government of
> > Kiribati believes that everything is going to be just fine, and
> > these officials must think I am an alarmist kook!   The scientific
> > community has failed Kiribati, in spite of it being the leading edge of
> the
> > collapse of coral reefs from mass bleaching, with only 5 atolls out of 33
> > even visited and sampled since their collapse in 2015-16.
> >
> >
> > I am calling some of you on this list out for perpetuating a continuing
> > and oppressive negative generalization about restoration, as it
> negatively
> > impacts some very good work that is vital for the future survival of
> coral
> > species and coral reefs.  Please either be specific about a particular
> > article you read or a specific project, or stop it!   This general
> > negativism about restoration continues to impact many good efforts that
> you
> > may not be aware of.  One example of coral restoration that has been
> highly
> > effective is in the Caribbean, where the small efforts in multiple
> > countries have turned around the near extinction and the multiple local
> > extinctions of Acropora corals in the wider Caribbean region.  This work
> is
> > responsible for a large portion of coral biomass and restored Acropora
> > breeding populations in the region, and has been highly successful. It
> has
> > not been a quick-fix, and because the decline was mostly due to disease
> and
> > hurricanes, it does not solve the impacts of climate change, and no one
> is
> > saying that it does!
> >
> >
> > Perhaps this sort of negativity is cultural and simply reflects the
> > pervasive negativity which has become the dominant culture of academia in
> > the USA? Or perhaps you are referring to what is happening in Florida and
> > GBR, and the various flashy high tech solutions being proposed and funded
> > by millions of dollars there?  Please realize that none of our work in
> the
> > developing world is along those lines. We have not seen any big funds
> > either, perhaps because our potential donors are impacted by your
> > negativity?
> >
> >
> > From my experience doing this for longer than anyone in both the
> Caribbean
> > and South Pacific, most restoration in the developing world nations is
> very
> > poorly funded, and it is being carried out by small-scale NGOs working
> with
> > communities, and on a shoestring as a service to the world, as acts of
> love
> > and points of light in a gloomy and depressing time. The goal of most of
> > these efforts now is to keep declining coral species alive where they are
> > dying out, and to maintain these species in a healthy and reproductive
> > condition, knowing that the struggle has just begun, foreseeing a future
> of
> > increasing heat waves, and hopefully working on strategies to get the
> more
> > heat adapted corals out of the hottest reef areas and into cooler reefs,
> as
> > insurance for their future survival.
> >
> >
> > In the less developed world, there has been essentially no coral focused
> > action by governments, neither by the scientific community, nor by the
> big
> > NGOs, with very few exceptions, to secure coral species from decline.
> Local
> > people have grown tired of seeing their reefs decline, and they want to
> do
> > something about it and to get involved.  Fragments of Hope in Belize:
> > https://fragmentsofhope.org/  Corals for Conservation in Fiji:
> > www.corals4conservation.org and the Coral Gardeners in Moorea:
> > www.coralgardeners.org and many other coral focused organizations have
> > formed in this vacuum of inaction, and there has been much success in
> spite
> > of opposition from "well meaning but misguided" scientists.
> >
> >
> > If you think that coral species and coral reef restoration efforts need
> > more science, we agree-, so please come help!  Stop criticizing and start
> > acting!  All those with a "humble attitude of learning" are welcome- the
> > culture of academic arrogance that sometimes prevails is not part of our
> > operational culture in the islands. We can offer housing and boat support
> > in our Fiji sites for seasoned researchers and grad students who are
> > serious about focusing on the outcomes of facilitated natural recovery
> and
> > coral based restoration work.  We have sites in seven Pacific Island
> > countries so far, but due to a lack of human resources and funds, minimal
> > science is being conducted alongside the work. We see some amazing
> results
> > and natural synergies, but often with only a few photos to back
> > observations up.
> >
> >
> > It is strikingly clear now that science will not save the planet- people
> > will save the planet, and only some of those people will be scientists.
> > All of the amazing work that coral reef scientists have done and are
> doing
> > on coral reefs, all the incredible diverse species and amazing
> > relationships, now stand gravely threatened, and so all of this
> collection
> > of information, should corals and coral reefs become extinct, will become
> > rather useless paleontology.  We will only know what was lost.  We are on
> > the leading edge of the planetary collapse and 6th extinction- why do we
> > pretend that everything is normal?
> >
> >
> > In our coral reef adaptation/ restoration sites, we are operating with
> > mostly unpublished yet so far highly effective strategies and methods.
> Now
> > in partnership with the Coral Gardeners and others for a regional youth
> > focused strategy, we are refocusing to empower island kids to save coral
> > species from dying out in their reefs over the next 30-50 years,
> providing
> > the strategies, tools, training and hopefully materials and funds that
> they
> > need for effectiveness. Translocation of corals from hot to cooler reefs
> is
> > just one of five adaptation strategies, which are frankly more adaptation
> > focused than restoration focused at this critical time in history:
> > https://reefresilience.org/case-studies/south-pacific-restoration/
> >
> >
> > Thanks for listening,
> >
> >
> > Austin
> >
> >
> >
> > Austin Bowden-Kerby, PhD
> >
> > Corals for Conservation
> >
> > P.O. Box 4649 Samabula, Fiji Islands
> >
> > https://www.corals4conservation.org
> >
> > https://www.facebook.com/C4Conservation
> >
> > TEDx talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PRLJ8zDm0U
> >
> >
> >
> https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/emergency-response-to-massive-coral-bleaching/
> > <
> https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/emergency-response-to-massive-coral-bleaching/
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Teitei Livelihoods Centre
> >
> > Km 20 Sigatoka Valley Road, Fiji Islands
> >
> > (679) 938-6437
> >
> > http:/www.
> > <
> http://permacultureglobal.com/projects/1759-sustainable-environmental-livelihoods-farm-Fiji
> >
> > teiteifiji.org
> >
> >
> >
> http://permacultureglobal.com/projects/1759-sustainable-environmental-livelihoods-farm-Fiji
> >
> >
> >
> https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/happy-chickens-for-food-security-and-environment-1/
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Thu, Apr 14, 2022 at 12:30 AM Steve Mussman via Coral-List <
> > coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Bill, you have clearly pointed out an inconvenient aspect of all this
> that
> > many here would prefer to avoid.
> >
> >
> > Although there are a number of restoration efforts worthy of praise that
> > nobly fulfill John’s expectations, some of the most prominent and
> > well-funded projects have chosen instead to strategically avoid placing
> due
> > emphasis on the imperative need to address climate change and other major
> > stressors. Until this changes, I’m afraid we will continue to miss out on
> > what could be a “potent political opportunity” to utilize perhaps the
> most
> > visible aspect of the coral sciences to bring about much needed change.
> >
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> >
> > Steve
> >
> >
> > On 4/12/22, 7:51 AM, Bill Allison via Coral-List <
> > coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
> >
> >
> > "... reef restoration programs acting in concert provide a potent
> >
> >
> > political opportunity to influence their national governments to support
> >
> >
> > the UN-based global efforts to control greenhouse gases and other factors
> >
> >
> > inimical to the survival of coral reefs."
> >
> >
> > OR
> >
> >
> > "reef restoration programs" masquerading as a solution provide a
> rationale
> >
> >
> > for kicking the addressing-causes-can down the road.
> >
> >
> > "cheers"
> >
> >
> > Bill
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Apr 12, 2022 at 6:59 AM John Ogden via Coral-List <
> >
> >
> > coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
> >
> >
> > > Dear Friends on Coral-List,
> >
> >
> > >
> >
> >
> > > The good news that Austin Bowden-Kirby highlights in his recent post
> >
> >
> > > concerns the global growth surge in reef restoration schemes and
> programs
> >
> >
> > > and shows clearly that people care about coral reefs and are unwilling
> to
> >
> >
> > > wait for government to act and watch them die without trying to do
> >
> >
> > > something to help. This kind of hands-on volunteerism is too rare and
> >
> >
> > > important not to take full advantage of on the political stage. In my
> >
> >
> > > opinion Coral Gardeners and other reef restoration programs acting in
> >
> >
> > > concert provide a potent political opportunity to influence their
> > national
> >
> >
> > > governments to support the UN-based global efforts to control
> greenhouse
> >
> >
> > > gases and other factors inimical to the survival of coral reefs.
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> > Coral-List mailing list
> >
> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> >
> > https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >
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