Posted By
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
Conservation biologist, Prof. Graeme Cumming says that the success or failure of conservation efforts depends heavily on cooperation between different stakeholders.
“Good science is necessary, but not sufficient to achieve effective solutions.”
His recently published paper proposes a new framework to bring together ideas about management syndromes, social-ecological traps, and social dilemmas.
Cumming says conservation failures often occur when people are placed in a dilemma situation, in which they must choose between individual (person or organisation) and group (broader society) benefits.
“Social dilemmas create winners and losers,” explains Cumming. “Where groups or individuals cannot change their behaviour without incurring a large penalty—whether economic or in terms of prestige—they may become ‘locked in’ to a particular solution, even if this solution is not feasible or scientifically supported.”
He adds that conservation problems share a relatively small number of common patterns, or “syndromes.” Recognising these syndromes in a given problematic situation can help managers and policy makers take more effective steps to correct or resolve them.
The paper reviews dilemmas and traps as syndromes, and summarises alternative solutions for resolving them. Cumming says many of our ongoing environmental problems could be quite easily resolved if everyone would cooperate in solving them.
“For example, a lack of cooperation is one of the main barriers to reducing climate change,” he says. “Imagine how different the world would be if everybody were willing to reduce reliance on fossil fuels—and other non-renewable resources—and live an environmentally responsible life.”
“If we can understand why cooperation works, or fails, then perhaps we can cooperate successfully more often.”
“Furthermore, if we can identify dynamics that are shared between different kinds of conservation failure and success, then we can draw on knowledge from a wide range of case studies instead of treating each study system as unique. The ability to develop general principles that have relevance across many different situations is precisely what gives science its power.”
Prof. Cumming will be the first speaker at the “Future of Coral Reefs” session opening the Coral Reef Futures Symposium in Brisbane this week.
His talk “Beyond planetary boundaries: understanding the implications of global development for coral reefs” will focus on the formation of alternate states in national economies and the relevance of these dynamics for the environment.
Full paper available here.
A selection of Symposium talks are available here.
The most extensive reef survey of the Coral Sea Marine Park ever undertaken will continue this week as scientists from ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University (Coral C
Scientists have used modern genetic techniques to prove age-old assumptions about what sizes of fish to leave in the sea to preserve the future of local fisheries. “We’ve known for decades that
Scientists say outdated assumptions around gender continue to hinder effective and fair policymaking and action for climate mitigation and adaptation. Lead author of a new study, Dr Jacqueline Lau
For the first time, scientists have assessed how many corals there are in the Pacific Ocean—and evaluated their risk of extinction. While the answer to “how many coral species are there?” is
Abstract: When a coral reef is bleached, a temperate kelp forest is destroyed by an army of sea urchins, or when intense fishing pressure is removed through the establishment of a marine park, the ma
Abstract: The fate of fish larvae during the pelagic phase has profound effects on replenishment of marine populations that are critical for human and ecosystem health. The survival and transport of l
Abstract: Neonate sharks experience high predation during early ontogeny. For this reason, predator avoidance is the major driver of shallow-water habitat use in neonate sharks. When a predator encoun
Abstract: Humans have been harvesting predators and other creatures from the global oceans for millennia. More recently, conservation measures, such as marine reserves, have been established to restor
Abstract: The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (WHA) is one of the most precious and diverse ecosystems on Earth. It is highly valued by people within Australia and worldwide and is critical to
Abstract: We frequently hear about demise and decline in fisheries systems. This narrative can inadvertently shift thefocus of research and funding away from the opportunities and benefits avail
Abstract: Multiple habitats in a tropical seascape are increasingly recognized as interconnected to one another. Mangroves, seagrass beds, and macroaglal beds are important components of a tropical se
Abstract: Current conservation goals for reef-building corals under climate change involve boosting desirable traits like heat tolerance and fast growth in natural and restored coral populations. This
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au