Media Contact: Lisa Young
251/861-7509
Dr. Richard Aronson,
Senior Marine Scientist at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, became President
of the International Society for Reef Studies (ISRS) on January 1st.
“The mission of ISRS has evolved since it was founded in 1980,” says
Aronson. “At that time our primary goal was to promote scienctific study
of living and fossil reefs, because reefs seemed to be doing fine and
nobody was thinking seriously about policy.” Now coral reefs in shallow
tropical waters face grave threats to their survival. Newly discovered
deep-water reefs are also at risk in the Gulf of Mexico and all over the
world.
“The latest conservative projection is that by 2050 we can expect 70% of
the world’s coral reefs to be completely destroyed,” Aronson says. “What
a horrifying statistic! That level of destruction will expose coastal
areas in the tropics to erosion, wipe out food sources for billions of
people, reduce our chances of discovering therapeutic drugs in the sea,
and squander tens of billions of dollars of income for developing
countries every year. Beyond these practical considerations, this is a
moral issue. What are we doing to our world?”
According to Aronson, ISRS remains at heart a scientific society, but
its focus is shifting to include strong conservation, policy and
educational components. “What we should do about coral reefs has become
highly politicized, and sound science has gotten lost in the shuffle.
Advocacy groups are shouting down the scientists and their good data.
Advocates are making easy promises on which they cannot deliver. We are
well beyond the stage at which simple, localized actions, like limiting
sewage input or regulating subsistence fishing, will by themselves fix
the situation. Most of the threats, including more destructive
hurricanes, outbreaks of marine diseases and coral bleaching, are
strongly linked to global warming.
Aronson points out that in 2004 the Australian Government protected a
third of the Great Barrier Reef, and on June 15th of this year the U.S.
Government created the Northwest Hawaiian Islands Marine National
Monument, protecting 140,000 square miles of ocean, island and reef.
“These legislative actions are very encouraging, but we have a daunting
task ahead of us if we are really serious about saving the planet. We
all have to take direct action to slow and ultimately halt global
climate change if coral reefs, and we ourselves, are to survive. We need
strong, visionary leadership on this issue at the highest levels of
government.”
For more information on ISRS, visit the Society’s website at
http://www.fit.edu/isrs/. |
