Like any other environmental or social concern, different places and people will have drastically different responses and solutions to a problem. When regarding coral conservation, this is no different.
Across the interview with my father, in addition to emphasizing the importance of acknowledging that there is no one and true “correct” viewpoint when looking at motivations for conservation, it is also important to keep in mind the ways that one’s upbringing, social climate, and education can vary one’s responses.
The United States
In general, when focusing on the motivations behind conservation efforts in the United States, two primary concerns were voiced time and time again: preservation and profit. One of the terms which was brought up in discussion was “ecosystem services,” or the benefits which are provided naturally to humankind from any number of ecosystems. These benefits can include anything from food and air purification to inspirations in the arts.
These same benefits, according to my father, are also often used to “value an ecosystem in terms of North American capitalism” in order to “make financial sense to do conservation.” For instance, one of many motivating factors for the United States to maintain its reefs is tourism, with places like the Flower Gardens in Texas or the Florida Keys seeing a number of visitors as a result. Conservation efforts in these areas, as a result, often receive a good amount of funding from the federal government, zoos, and aquariums to help maintain conservation efforts. In fact, my father estimated that there was anywhere from “$20 to $25 million in in-kind staffing resources, space, time, effort, money, utilities, saltwater, pumps, lights, [and] food” which had been provided by zoos and aquariums alone to help in their conservation efforts. This funding, in part, is undeniably tied to the benefits of tourism and economic stimulation from healthy reefs.
Similarly, there is an inherent interest in the preservation of endangered species in the North American scientific world. Though his explanation of this was brief, the policies of the United States regarding the protection and attempted repopulation of endangered species are evident. There is an innate importance put upon the species who are seeing their numbers dwindle or those who are facing considerable threat from property development, pollution, or disease. Fortunately, concerns of disease in coral conservation appear to be a shared interest between nations.
Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease
Unifying the concerns of conservation between several countries is the prevention and treatment of stony coral tissue loss disease, or SCTLD. First reported from Florida in 2014, it has rapidly spread across the Caribbean, having lethal effects on more than 20 coral species from 18 countries and counting1. My father’s work has directly connected to the disease, with a vast majority of his conservation efforts being in response to SCTLD. Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, and Dominica, all places which he has visited in the name of coral loss prevention, are actively fighting to prevent the spread of this lethal disease. However, the responses to this disease have been vastly different. While the United States has access to a wide array of funding and resources, the same cannot be said of all other locations.
Dominica
As a direct result of the threat of SCTLD, my father recently traveled to Dominica in order to disseminate knowledge and collaborate directly with locals of Dominica. Being a smaller, beautiful island within the Eastern Caribbean Sea, the health of all ocean life plays an integral role in the livelihoods of countless Dominicans. This, ultimately, is one of the largest motivating factors of the response to coral conservation – an insurance that people will still be able to make ends meet while preserving the reefs. As such, the need to preserve the reefs is inherently balanced with the needs of the people in conversation. Though his work in Dominica does involve the bringing of information and materials from the United States to Dominica, there is one incredibly important detail to keep in mind:
“…it needs to not be that ‘oh, thank God, the Americans are here!'”
– Brian Nelson
The sharing of skills across countries or cultures cannot, and should not, be regarded as one country “saving” another, especially when one is considered somehow more powerful than the other. Just as the scientific community from the United States is coming bringing their own experiences and expertise, so too are the researchers, activists, and locals of Dominica. It is far more appropriate to view this as a partnership or collaboration.
Tying It All Together
While certainly an effective strategy cross-culturally, such practices are not only applied on a global scale. The dissemination of knowledge across a group in order to ensure that a local community is able to promote their own activism also happens regularly across the United States. Take, for instance, the work of Urban Ocean Lab, a nonprofit whose primary focus is effective, collaborative, and equitable climate solutions (namely for coastal cities). Partnering with New York City following the devastating effects of a superstorm, a document was generated entitled Social cohesion as a climate strategy: Reflections on Superstorm Sandy2 as a method of emphasizing effective community-led resilience strategies via an assessment of those already developed following the storm’s destruction. Among them was the idea of community-led education programs, which seek to teach local people about the ways that they can make a difference at any age. While their precise forms of activism may not have been the same, the formation of a learning community of some form with the intent of spreading knowledge equitably is seen just as much in the work in Dominica as it is here. As such, the promotion of interlinked education between a community (or more than one) has proven to be a successful tool in conservation and preservation alike no matter one’s location.
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