[Coral-List] Coral restoration trashing

Mon Aug 21 21:02:11 UTC 2023

Thanks Luiz for putting this out there and defending us!

I have much more to say about the injustices of the present order in the
other corla List thread:  Florida bleaching threatens corals; trying to
save corals in nurseries.

I also agree with Hector, that we do have some problems within our ranks:
We are a mix of well seasoned restoration scientists, plus some less
scientifically grounded restoration practitioners and then there are the
non-scientists, often as NGOs who are trying their best to save the world.
Yes, some of this mix do promote restoration as a quick fix solution.

The goal of planting a million corals promotes the image that coral
planting is the solution, and I think that it would be best to stop that.
However, people may have invested too much in the slogan and the idea to be
able to change this. The wider academic community needs to understand that
the source of the overly positive restoration picture being often painted
is that we have been forced to sell ourselves, to turn to crowd funding due
to the lack of other funding options.  There are no well funded coral
restoration programs in the developing world that I know of.  However, the
Coral Gardeners of Moorea have raised over a million dollars via crowd
funding for coral restotration, and planting a million corals is their
goal.

Even though I have been at this for longer than many of you have been
alive, I have in recent years had to rely on crowd funding for the majority
of our funds, which are limited. This quite sad when coral reefs are the
most critically endnagered of all ecosytems.  And few realize that this
also means that we do not have institutional support, financial management
support, laboratory support, boat operation support, etc and must do
everything on our own- no wonder we rarely have time to publish.   Even now
I have deadlines I am neglecting due to these Coral List interactions!

Thanks for the discussion!

Austin

Austin Bowden-Kerby, PhD
Corals for Conservation
P.O. Box 4649 Samabula, Fiji Islands

https://www.corals4conservation.org <https://www.corals4conservation.org>
Publication on C4C's coral-focused climate change adaptation strategies:
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/4/1/2/pdf
Film on our "Reefs of Hope" coral restoration for climate change adaptation
strategies:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG0lqKciXAA
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
https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/happy-chickens-for-food-security-and-environment-1/

On Tue, Aug 22, 2023 at 8:17 AM Héctor Reyes Bonilla via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

> saludos generales. I agree with Luiz Rocha general idea and applaud it, but
> there are some details to comment from the perspective of a researcher
> living in a developing country-
>
> El lun, 21 ago 2023 a las 8:40, Luiz Rocha via Coral-List (<
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>) escribió:
>
> > Alright, I've had it. I am sick and tired of the constant trashing and
> > criticism that coral restoration projects and that any science even
> > remotely related to restoration are getting. Even though I don't work on
> it
> > (directly or indirectly) I know a lot of scientists working on coral
> > restoration. And I also know a lot of restoration projects. Not a single
> > one of them has ever said that the solution for the coral reef crysis is
> > coral restoration. This is hyperbole created either by the media and the
> > critics of coral restoration.
> >
>
> In developing countries, where most coral reefs are, unfortunately the
> final argument is not true. many (many!) researchers from academia (locals
> and foreigners) DO say local people, governments, etc., that their work
> will save reefs, and many NGOs affirm the same. The media simply takes
> their words and translates the information to the general public (and most
> of times, the researchers are happy with that). I think that limited
> funding for long-term restoration projects in these countries is the source
> of the problem; people need to "demonstrate" that their work is more
> important than others, so they can get the resource.
>
>
>
> >
> > Now more specifically about the critiques to every kind of science
> related
> > to restoration. If we put together all of the dollars that went into
> coral
> > restoration science, in all of human history, that adds up to (very
> > graciously) about half a billion dollars. For those that keep saying that
> > we can solve the climate crisis with coral restoration dollars, please,
> > please, tell me how 500 million dollars would solve climate change. If
> you
> > sit down and really think about it, I hope you realize that climate
> change
> > is not a money problem. We have the money and the solutions to do it.
> What
> > we do not have is the political will.
> >
>
> I agree that money is not the solution, but it counts. Governments of
> developing countries have very limited resources, and many times because of
> the promise to "save the reef" (and not only "the fishery of X species" for
> example) they rather invest in restoration of one hectare instead of
> monitoring reefs in national parks, conducting fisheries assessments, etc.
> This has happened many times in Mexico. I understand that no country has
> unlimited funding, but when money is really limited (in Mexico the
> government invests on average less than 5 USD/ hectare/year for management
> of national parks), it is of the foremost relevance to decide where to
> place it. That is the reason why many people criticize the interest that
> has been devoted to restoration in developing countries when you compare
> the social (not ecological) impact of this activity against the success
> (actual or possible) that other actions offer to coastal communities. I am
> not saying that restoration does not deserve support; just that
> cost-benefit analyses should be done.
>
>
> >
> > And for those that keep saying that corals in air conditioned aquaria are
> > not a solution, rhinos in zoos aren't either, so should we kill them all
> > and be done with it? The only surviving individuals of unique genetic
> > lineages of several species that used to be in Florida are now only alive
> > in aquaria. So let's use the few hundreds of thousands of dollars being
> > used to keep them alive to convince Ron De Santis and Donald Trump that
> > climate change is real. Yeah, that's gonna work. These dollars (even if
> > dollars could solve climate change, which they won't) are not competing
> > with climate change dollars. That's like asking to stop funding coral
> > taxonomy because giving coral species names is only rearranging the
> chairs
> > in the Titanic. That argument can be used for any branch of science that
> is
> > not fighting climate change. And it is not true.
> >
> >
> Again ok, but it is not the same to have a rhino in a zoo than a reef in an
> aquarium. The first one is a species that because of its low numbers
> already plays very limited ecological roles, and if things go well, as it
> happened with condors or wolves, we can eventually return it to nature and
> they will do their thing. we can actually restore the population and its
> function. the second is an ecosystem that is feeding millions, and that it
> is impossible to save just by taking certain corals away from the stress
> source. I would rather bet for natural selection than aquaria. And finally:
> what developing country can do what it is been done in Florida?
>
>
>
> > So, get off your horses, fight climate change the best way you can, and
> > keep doing science, even if it's not related to climate change. Because
> it
> > will help.
> >
>
> I am with you, but careful planning is needed.
>
> Hector Reyes
>
>
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Luiz
> >
> > Luiz A. Rocha, Ph.D.
> > Curator and Follett Chair of Ichthyology
> > Co-Director, Hope For Reefs Initiative
> >
> > California Academy of Sciences
> >
> > p. 415.379.5370
> >
> > LRocha at calacademy.org
> > Academic Website
> > <https://www.calacademy.org/staff/ibss/ichthyology/luiz-a-rocha>
> >
> > 55 Music Concourse Drive
> > Golden Gate Park
> > San Francisco, CA 94118
> >
> > Twitter <https://twitter.com/CoralReefFish> | Instagram
> > <https://www.instagram.com/coralreeffish/>
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> >
>
>
> --
> Héctor Reyes Bonilla
> Departamento Académico de Ciencias Marinas y Costeras
> Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur
> Carretera al sur km 5.5. Col. El Mezquitito
> La Paz, B.C.S., C.P. 23080.
> Tel. (52-612) 123-8800, ext. 4814
> Fax (52-612) 123-8819.
>
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