Reefs

I’ve recently published an article that deals with the relationship between illegal fishing and young men in Palawan, Philippines. I argue that those involved in illegal fishing activities, such as cyanide fishing for the live fish trade, are usually macho young men who are keen to show off their masculinity.

 The article can be viewed here; I’d be interested if anyone had any comments or feedback.

The panel: Roger Bradbury, Karen Edyvane and Richard Kenchington

We expected our three panelists to deliver and they did! To the paramount question, ‘Are Marine Parks a waste of space?’ they gave contrasted, articulated and sometimes controversial answers. In a full-house theatre, Karen Edyvane pleaded for a more economically grounded approach to Marine Parks. Karen claimed that existing success-stories had more to do with sound economic agendas rather than conservation-oriented discourses. This is the case, for example, when sustainable tourism outbids extractive industries. In order to change the way we look at marine ecosystems, Karen called for a ‘Stern Report on Ocean Change’. Then came Roger Bradbury who left the audience with nothing but dread about the future of our oceans. According to our favorite Cassandra, the dice have rolled and the fate of marine ecosystems as we know them is sealed unless we ‘totally ban fishing from the surface of the oceans’. Roger based his demonstration on the ecological disaster occurring in the Black Sea, whereby disruption of the top of the food chain has transformed the marine ecosystems into slime-based energy processing ones. Finally, Richard Kenchington, while acknowledging the seriousness of the situation, insisted on the fact that the prime question wasn’t whether Marine Parks were useful or not, but rather, ‘what do we mean by Marine Parks and what can Marine Parks do?’ Richard reminded the audience about the IUCN guidelines and argued that most of the existing ‘paper parks’ were due to fuzzy or flawed interpretations of what a Marine Park should aim at in a given context. In order to reach a consensus on Marine Parks, Richard called for unbiased public debates to help bringing together conservation and exploitation viewpoints on marine environments.

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Once and for all, I have to admit it that there is something I love as much as my 10-year long scuba diving experiences…well, it is my “fish and chips”! It would be laughable if there weren’t probably hundreds of thousand people sharing my pathetic schizophrenia. Recently, professional indulgence and aquatic inclination allowed me to observe declining ecosystems along the Mexican and Filipino coastlines. Despite contrasted socio-economic contexts, a common and disturbing feature emerged from these observations: the overall fatality of an already written inevitable collapse. I’m not talking about climate change here; no, I’m talking about the political, economic and social forces at work, sealing the fate of local marine environments. In both places, scientists, activists or public servants do their best to prevent the ineluctable end. Marine Parks have been created, legislations are in place, education and mitigation programs are implemented. Nevertheless, these ecosystems are declining.

Why is it so? Can we do better? Is there a bright future for Green Turtles? These questions and many more will certainly stimulate our new RMAP Argument: Marine Parks…a Waste of Space? Three experts will give their contrasted opinions on the matter. I cannot resist sharing with you abstracts of their provocative statements:

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Today found in the World Resource Institute Digest, Feb 2008, Vol 4, No 2:

International Year of the Reef - IYOR 2008 is a worldwide campaign to raise awareness about the value and importance of coral reefs and threats to their sustainability, and to motivate people to take action to protect them. All individuals, corporations, schools, governments, and organizations are welcome and actively encouraged to participate in IYOR 2008.

The website IYOR 2008 has a wealth of information, including news and events, background documents as well as every day tips on how to get invovled.

Coral reefs are often described as the rainforests of the oceans. The Philippines was recently declared the ‘centre of marine shore fish biodiversity’, yet its reef system is on a knife edge—due mainly to increasing number of fishermen exploiting the reefs, many using destructive and illegal fishing methods. Lynne Malcolm visits key marine areas and speaks to scientists, local government members and fishermen, who together are establishing community managed fisheries. Could this new cooperation restore the balance between sustainable biodiversity and the livelihood of fishing communities?

Listen here