While many conservation plans focus on only environmental indicators for success, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)’s coral reef program is trying a relatively new approach: focusing on both social and ecological processes and outcomes to ensure a long-term future for coral reef systems, according to a newly published study.
In the new study, scientists from WCS and James Cook University in Australia developed and implemented a cutting-edge monitoring approach that incorporates social and ecological indicators to uncover drivers of coral reef conservation success. The framework was developed and implemented in four countries across Africa, Asia and the Pacific where millions of people rely on coral reef ecosystems for livelihoods, food security and cultural practices.
The study titled “Implementing a social-ecological systems framework for conservation monitoring: lessons from a multi-country coral reef program” appears in the latest edition of the journal Biological Conservation.
“People depend on coral reefs for multiple dimensions of their wellbeing, and working with people, rather than fish or coral, is at the heart of reef management. A social-ecological systems perspective for management is critical to achieving positive outcomes for people and nature,” said lead author Dr. Georgina Gurney of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University.
Image: A coral reef on the coast of Fiji, one of four countries where marine scientists are focusing on both social and ecological processes and outcomes to ensure a long-term future for coral reef systems.
Credit: Stacy Jupiter/WCS
Source: enn.com
