11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

21-33
Implications Of Coastal Development On Resilience in Linked Socio-Ecological
Mexican Caribbean System
Jesús ARIAS-GONZÁLEZ* 1 , Renata RIVERA 2 , Yves-Marie BOZEC 1 , Fabián
RODRIGUEZ-ZARAGOZA 3 , Castro-Pérez JOSÉ 4 , Carmen VILLEGAS-SÁNCHEZ 1 ,
Gilberto ACOSTA-GONZÁLEZ 1 , Hector LARA-ARENAS 1
1 Recursos del Mar, Centro de Investigación y Etudios Avanzados del I.P.N., Merida,
Yucatan, Mexico, 2 Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular de Plantas, Centro
de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, 3 Departamento de
Ecología, Universidad de Guadalajara, Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, 4 Biología y Química,
Instituto Tecnológico de Chetumal, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Socio-ecological systems (SES) of the Caribbean have evolved in myriad ways, but the
majority have under-developed and degradation of coastal resources in common. The
worldwide decrease in live coral cover and biological diversity, as well as a phase shifts
in coral dominant species due to overfishing, pollution and tourism-associated coastal
development, highlight the importance of understanding the source of resilience in linked
SES. We have studied Mexican Caribbean reefs from a landscape perspective with three
key dimensions: a) structure, i.e. fish and coral biodiversity, geomorphology, reef
extension, connectivity; b) ecosystem function, i.e. fish trophic structure, trophic
functioning; and c) time, i.e. temporal change of coral reef community structure and
function. Our studies have been focused on two socio-ecological system scenarios
(artisan fishery and tourism-coral reefs) and different conservation strategies (marine
protected and unprotected areas). Until the 1970s, artisanal fisheries were the only human
activities in Mexican Caribbean reefs. These included several resources, with heavy
selection of conch and lobster, although scale fisheries remained relatively stable. From
the 1970s on, the advent of massive tourism development has completely changed coastal
resources appropriation regimes and altered ecosystem services, beginning the era of
“Gringolandia, a term that reflects the circus-like spectacle of over-sized resorts” like
Cancun with a chaotic tourism growth and uneven development. Changes are occurring
in biodiversity, which is dependant on reefscape structure and extension, and in
ecosystems function, in terms of mass balance and flux. These changes are eroding
resilience. Massive tourism development in the Mexican Caribbean puts population
connectivity at risk through habitat fragmentation and phase shift from coral to algae
dominated ecosystems. Despite investment of millions of dollars in management, the
collapse of coral reef system appears imminent. The associated social system will then
need to adapt to the emerging algae-dominated ecosystem
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Fishing, Agriculture, Trade And Migration On Small, Overpopulated Islands in
Melanesia: Moving Beyond Functionalist Analyses Of Indigenous Coral Reef
Resource Use And Management
Simon FOALE* 1
1 ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville,
Australia
Many studies of traditional management of coral reef fisheries by indigenous
communities in Melanesia downplay or ignore the extent to which those communities
have been engaged with the global economy since the early colonial era, and exaggerate
the extent to which subsistence fisheries actually require management, in support of
arguments about the ‘adaptive’ nature of traditional management institutions. Such
functionalist approaches have been critiqued for many years in the anthropological
literature but appear to continue to enjoy some currency in the recent efflorescence of
cross-disciplinary studies that deal with ‘traditional’ coral reef resource use. In this paper
I present a range of demographic, historical, ecological, anthropological and economic
data relating to artisanal and subsistence fisheries on a number of small, over-populated
(more than 100 people per square kilometer) islands in Melanesia. A key finding of the
study is that on some islands, population densities well in excess of the production
capacity of the local swidden agriculture system are supported primarily by cash from
beche-de-mer and shark-fin fisheries, neither of which is subject to any form of
community-level management. The study also shows the extent to which ties to groups
on other, less densely populated islands are actively maintained through marriage,
traditional trade, and feasting, and the extent to which this provides an option for
emigration in the case of severe drought or cash shortage. The data underline the
complexity of marine resource use and its contingency on a wide range of variables in
such systems, and highlight the risks inherent in functionalist frames of analysis.
Oral Mini-Symposium 21: Social-ecological Systems
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Management For Resilience On The Great Barrier Reef in The Face Of Climate Change:
Laurence MCCOOK* 1,2
1 Research & Monitoring Coordination, GBRMPA, Townsville, Australia, 2 Pew Fellow in
Marine Conservation, Townsville, Australia
Globally, coral reefs are under increasing pressure from human stressors, including climate
change in particular. Even under optimistic scenarios, significant climate change is now
inevitable and large-scale disturbances to reefs will become more frequent and more severe, so
that reef managers have a responsibility to maximise the resilience of reefs to those changes.
A number of factors have been identified as contributing to the ecological resilience of coral
reefs, including:
• Reducing the extent and rate of climate change;
• Reduction in stressors, such as human derived sediments, nutrients and pollutants;
• Minimising human related disturbances;
• Intact trophic structure, especially larger herbivorous fishes;
• The biodiversity of the system;
• The connectivity and complexity of the ecosystem and the presence of refugia;
• Strong links between communities and different levels of Government, and
• Adaptive and multi-scale management.
The roles of these different factors are illustrated with examples from the management of the
Great Barrier Reef. However, in isolation, most of these examples really just amount to good
management: what does resilience add to good reef management?
The concept of resilience provides a valuable integrative perspective in both science and
management, because:-
i. it provides a basis for recognising, and communicating to the public, that different threats are not
independent, but may act synergistically, requiring integrative management; similarly, addressing
combinations of threats may provide synergistic benefits;
ii. management for resilience provides the best insurance against future, unforeseen threats (or
under-estimated threats);
iii. it allows the integration of ecological, social and economic issues: the “SES” or social-ecological
system;
iv. it provides a basis for management which is proactive, as well as responsive to accepted threats.
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Towards A Greater Integration Of Social And Natural Sciences
Alexandra COGHLAN* 1
1 Tourism Program, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia
Interdisciplinary teams are now commonplace in large natural resource management research
centers. The evolution from pure biologists, to a system approach with ecologists and later the
addition of social scientists and geographers reflect our understanding that no natural
environment is exempt from human impacts, and that we must examine the system as a whole if
we wish to protect it.
There is a recognition that, in order to successfully protect a natural resource such as coral reefs,
there must be local support for the projects, and some incentive to preserve and manage the
resource. As such many teams with a natural conservation goal, operate within a context of
outcome and impact-driven funding. In some cases, the natural scientist who has been working
near or alongside the local community for many years whilst studying the resource becomes the
most obvious choice, particularly if this person has above-average social skills.
The result of this evolution from biologist/ecologist to social scientist is a new form of outcome
driven social science, and a discipline aimed at achieving partnerships to protect natural
resources. This paper therefore traces the diverging pathways of social and natural sciences,
examining the differing research paradigms and comparing the issues of “isms” (determinism,
functionalism and positivism) in the natural sciences and fluffy, fuzzy-wuzziness of the social
sciences. We argue that the new social science finds itself somewhere in between.
We examine the outputs of new social scientists and argue for greater integration so that the
traditional strands of social science may adopt a more outcome driven approach that allow
communities to adapt to rapidly changing natural environments. Finally, we encourage more
dialogue, through peer-review publications and conference presentations, between traditional
social sciences and the new, emerging discipline, to add new perspectives to each and allow
them to learn from each other.
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