11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

23.988
Development Of A Strategy To Guide The Use Of Remotely Sensed Information in
The Management Of Coral Reef Environments
Candace NEWMAN* 1
1 Geography, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
We have developed a strategy to guide the use of remotely sensed information in the
management of coral reef environments in developing countries. The strategy includes
development of a habitat map using satellite imagery, investigation of stakeholder
receptivity to the habitat map, use of a decision-key to determine degree of suitability of
habitat types to address management questions, and context-appropriate representation of
data. The strategy was developed using IKONOS 4x4 m multi-spectral satellite imagery
and interview data from dive operators, fishermen, and managers of Bunaken Island,
Indonesia. The potential for this strategy to address coral reef management issues is widereaching
when feedback from map-users is recognized and integrated methodically.
It is increasingly evident that specific, issue-focused maps are essential to address current
and acute coral reef degradation concerns in developing nations. Moreover, it is
increasingly recognized that dive operators, fishermen, and managers, who live beside
these reefs, are well positioned to provide valuable information about the impacts on
reefs and about context-relevant solutions. The challenge is to efficiently extract and then
appropriately integrate this information with habitat-mapped data to develop contextspecific
management maps.
In this study, we develop a strategy to address this challenge. Over one year has been
spent on Bunaken Island, Indonesia’s first national marine park, gathering field data to
validate the IKONOS satellite image, and gathering interview data from dive operators,
fishermen, and Park managers. The strategy was developed and tested with local
stakeholders and considerable feedback was acquired and used to enhance the strategy.
23.989
Voluntary Standards as a Tool for Increasing the Sustainability of the Marine
Recreation Industry and Improving MPA Effectiveness in Hawaii and Mesoamerica
Rick MACPHERSON* 1 , Rich WILSON 1 , Liz FOOTE 2
1 Conservation Programs, Coral Reef Alliance, San Francisco, CA, 2 Conservation
Programs, Coral Reef Alliance, Wailuku, HI
Standards have a long history of improving service quality and safety in a wide range of
industries. Successful businesses benefit from standards both by actively participating in
the standardization process and by using standards as strategic market instruments. The
Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) recently completed a process in which marine recreation
industry stakeholders in Hawaii and along the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef worked in
unprecedented collaborations to develop voluntary standards that will measurably
improve and sustain environmental performance in scuba diving, snorkeling, boat
operations, and marine life viewing. Engaging a standards committee comprised of
representatives from marine recreation, conservation NGOs, tourism industry
associations, marine recreation suppliers, marine park managers and government
agencies, scientists, divers, local community groups, and traditional communities,
CORAL is now testing the implementation of these standards and providing technical and
financial support for locally based conservation initiatives. It is expected that this process
will enhance adoption of standards throughout the marine recreation industry, increase
industry support for marine protected areas (MPAs), and lead to the development of
extensive conservation alliances which enhance MPA effectiveness and improve the
economic and environmental sustainability of marine recreation in Hawaii and
Mesoamerica.
Poster Mini-Symposium 23: Reef Management
23.990
“You Tell Us We Can’t Eat The Fish But You Don’t Tell Us Why”
Carlos ORMOND* 1 , David ZANDVLIET* 1
1 Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
In our attempts to establish effective reef management programs we have tended to pay
particular attention on restricting human access and intervention. While successful in some
areas, they have been failures in others. We argue that in order for coral reef conservation to be
truly effective we must lean more on the human dimension of coral reef ecology for support.
What is needed is a much more conceded effort in integrating environmental education
programs with coral reef management strategies. We are well beyond the age of discovery
science that featured Darwin’s The Origin of Species. We are now in an age of environmental
protection as well as the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
(2005—2014), and so our practices must evolve, as do the organisms we study, to our current
environment. If in the late 20th century education has proven to be an effective vehicle for
social change, how then have those of us who attempt to promote environmental change
misused education?
Around the world, educational programs are often classroom based with little environmental
interaction. There lies a great body of research in human learning that acknowledges the
positive influential affects of direct experience on learning. As well, human behavioral studies
have indicated that education that occurs in local natural settings promotes environmental
stewardship in an individual’s own community. With that said, outdoor educational experiences
offers itself as a supplement to current reef management strategies as a way to involve the local
community with the potential to create ecological knowledge, and most importantly, to provide
an understanding of “why they can’t eat the fish”.
23.991
Hurricanes and corals in Southern Belize: from science to management and policy
development
M. James CRABBE* 1 , Edwin MARTINEZ 2 , Christina GARCIA 3 , Juan CHUB 4 , Leonardo
CASTRO 5 , Jason GUY 6
1 Faculty of Creative Arts, Technologies & Science, University of Bedfordshire, Luton, United
Kingdom, 2 Belize Regional Initiative, Earthwatch Institute, Punta Gorda Town, Belize, 3 ,
Toledo Association for Sustainable Tourism and Empowerment (TASTE), Punta Gorda Town,
Belize, 4 Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE), Punta Gorda Town, Belize,
5 Friends of Nature, Belize, Placencia, Belize, 6 Belize Department of Fisheries, Belize City,
Belize
There are two major coral reef areas in Southern Belize, the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve
(SCMR, a World Heritage Site), and the Port Honduras Marine Reserve (PHMR). We have
conducted coral surveys in both reserves, determined coral growth rates, and show here that
hurricanes and severe storms have limited the recruitment and survival of massive corals in the
SCMR and PHMR (p=0.01), similar to our earlier findings in Jamaica. From this science base
we have developed a capacity building programme for local stakeholders, in collaboration with
NGOs and management authorities, to inform long-term resource management decisions in
Southern Belize. This has enabled stakeholders’ capacity to lead, educate, and support issues
regarding sustainable development, and promoted networking amongst organisations who
manage marine resources, enhancing their power to collectively influence policy decisions in
the country. Specific needs for the future include: enhancing and maintaining the legality of the
marine parks in Belize, enforcement and the effectiveness of zoning, scientific underpinning
and maintenance of coral and fish stock assessments, linking NGOs and marine parks in Belize
in effective co-management and governance, and development of a shared database on the lines
of that initiated by the MBRS project.
521