This morning's HSMB article discussion brought up a valuable lesson that continually
comes up in life: there is never just one side of a story. This article touched
upon the idea of conservation of marine environments. It spoke of many scientists'
concerns with the disappearance of many of the world's beautiful coral reefs,
especially in areas with new tourist development. Many organizations, such as
Nature Conservancy, have taken action to protect these reefs, but with these
actions came the jealousy of many native people in the area.
Many of these natives felt that the local governments have been more concerned about the wildlife in the area rather than the people themselves. Many felt that the government should instead be taking actions to help better the lives of the people, especially in the many places where poverty is quite common. Some of these natives have even become a bit hostile in attempts to gain attention for their many concerns. For instance, in Grand Cayman Island, six giant blue iguanas in captivity were found dead as a result of a seemingly intentional stab from a knife. These animals represented a very important attempt to bring back a critically endangered species in these islands, but unfortunately, this was cut short by the terrible slaughter.
This and many other examples show how you can not just focus on one part of an issue. Others opinions need too be taken into consideration, and this point raises some interesting questions. How do you think these governments can compromise with the people of the country? Can you brainstorm any ways that conservation may actually benefit the native people of these areas?
Maggie
For conservation to work it must benefit and have the support of local people.
I think the issues surrounding the development of Bimini Bay Resort is the perfect example of this.
Many of the local people in Bimini are now fighting the development, because they realize that building thousands of condos and destroying the mangroves is not a good thing for the environment or the local people.