Reef Resilience Review

Communicating Bleaching Incidents to Stakeholders: When bleaching hits my reef who do I tell first? What should I say?

Spotlight on Sumatra

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Stephanie Wear,
Director of Coral Reef Conservation
The Nature Conservancy, Global Marine Initiative
resilience@tnc.org

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August 2010 Newsletter
Distributed by the Global Marine Initiative

Communicating Bleaching Incidents to Stakeholders: When bleaching hits my reef who do I tell first? What should I say?

June 2010 Caribbean Training of Trainers Workshop participants
© Stephanie Wear

The educational puppet show used in Kimbe Bay strengthened conservation messages on marine biodviersty in local schools & villages © A. Green

In a year in which we may face the most extensive coral bleaching since 1998, where warm La Niña conditions threaten the health of corals in Thailand, Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia, as well as the Caribbean, it is more important than ever for managers to think carefully about how we communicate these bleaching events to constituents.

When corals bleach, or suffer other effects of climate change, managers from around the world need tools on how to effectively communicate these incidents to their constituents, including dive operators and other businesses dependent on the reef, tourists, and even governments. Who should they tell first? Is it the media? Actually, their first audience will most likely be those dependent on the reef, such as dive operators, as well as any involved government officials. If a manager already has a close relationship with those groups, they can reach out to them directly via email or phone. Next, it is time to think about the best way to talk to the press. This may be the time to send out a press release describing a bleaching event, and what the incident means for coral reefs.

What kinds of messages are most effective? Do we lead with gloom or hope? We talk a lot about how to describe the effects of climate change. While we don’t want to use up all of our credibility at once, we want our audience to understand the severity of the situation. We want them to empathize with the situation, and at the same time, we do not want to alienate them with ‘gloom and doom’ messages. In the end, what a manager decides to communicate to the public will need to be specifically tailored to their audience, the audience’s level of engagement and knowledge about climate change, and its causes and effects.

We think that the best way to figure out first steps in the event of a bleaching event is to develop a communications strategy ahead of time. Check out templates and case studies of effective uses of communications on our website.

In the Caribbean this year, we trained over 25 trainers on how to develop their own communication plans and how to train others to communicate effectively about bleaching events. From June 20-24, 2010, marine park managers representing over 20 Caribbean countries came together in Key Largo, Florida with a singular goal in mind—to become Trainers on tools to build resilience into management activities.

Participants completed an online Reef Resilience course and developed draft bleaching response and/or communications plans. After four intensive days together, participants had in-depth knowledge of our different communication opportunities and challenges. They were equipped to go home and reach out to local constituents, as well as train others on how to effectively communicate the impacts of climate change related coral bleaching events. These trainers will become resources in the region for local managers and others dependent on Caribbean reefs.

Even before you take an online course, or attend a training workshop—here are four steps to help you get started in developing your climate change/bleaching communications response:

Monitor NOAA’s Coral Watch Reef Alerts
If you are relying on a volunteer network for monitoring and first response, make sure you have a system in place to communicate to them if a bleaching event is predicted.
If you think that your best bet for reaching fishermen and/or tourism operators is radio, make sure you use any funding available to develop radio spots.
Work with your partners to develop a communications plan before bleaching season, so that you are as prepared as possible.

Spotlight on Sumatra

Situated off the northern tip of Sumatra, Indonesia, the reefs of Weh and Aceh islands host a high diversity and variety of marine endemic species. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is working with local governments and communities to adopt sustainable marine resource practices and innovative management initiatives that will benefit local resource users and help rebuild local communities.

The primary conservation goal is to improve both the effectiveness of coral reef management and the condition of coral reef resources themselves. Conservation strategies include assessing coral reefs and identifying critical habitats; assessing socioeconomic needs and perceptions of marine resource use and conservation; developing community co-management and marine protected area networks; building capacity of government and local NGO’s in marine resource management; conducting and supporting marine awareness and education programs in schools; and assisting communities in developing alternative livelihood projects.

To gather some of the first comprehensive data on FSAs in the region, 60 fishers from 7 districts on the island of Weh were interviewed. Results of the community interviews indicate that many fishers possess reliable knowledge of spawning areas, species and times.