Reef Resilience Workshop for the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council

http://reefresilience.org/

 On April 28th & 29th, 2012, the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council (MNMRC; mnmrc.org) and associated Community Marine Management Area (CMMA) groups (Polanui and Kahului Harbor) participated in the Climate Change and Reef Resilience workshop hosted by Darla White of the Maui DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources, and Dr. Eric Conklin, Director of Marine Science for The Nature Conservancy of Hawai`i.  The event was held at the NOAA Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary in Kihei, with the field component hosted by Ekolu Lindsey at the Polanui CMMA.  To learn more about the purpose of the workshop, visit the previous blog at: http://mauioceanbloggers.blogspot.com/2011/12/reef-resilience-and-climate-change-in.html

If the perils of our time are unprecedented, then so are the opportunities.  – Anonymous

Climate Change and Reef Resilience Training held at the NOAA Humpback Whale
National Marine Sanctuary  in Kihei,  April 28th, 2012

Robin Knox reports out for her group's reef resilience mapping activity.

Takeo and Char report on their group's strategy to manage
coral reefs in the face of climate change.

Takeo (MNMRC) talks about the importance of fish nursery
areas and estuaries for sustaining fisheries into the future.

Back: John Seebart (Makai Watch), Itana Silva (DAR),
John Gorman (MOC & MNMRC), Takeo Miyaguchi
(MNMRC); Front: Larry Stevens (MNMRC)

Surfrider Foundation's Timothy Lara
and Hannah Bernard
report on managing for resilience.

Linda Castro, Maui Nui Marine Resource Council,
Polanui Community Marine Management Area (CMMA), &
DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources technician

Dr. Eric Conklin, Director of Marine Science
 for The Nature Conservancy of Hawai`i

This course can be taken online for a certificate in a self-paced format at https://www.conservationtraining.org

1) Create a profile

2) Go to the "Course Catalog" drop down list

 - select 'Waters', then select 'Oceans'

3) Scroll down to Reef Resilience Curriculum 1, 2, & 3.  (Principles of Reef Resilience, Resilient MPA Design and Managing for Reef Resilience) 

4) Select the desired curriculum and it will go to a new page.  On the left-hand bar you will see an option to 'enroll in the course'.  Select to enroll and off you go!

Participants learned about the threats of climate change on coral reef ecosystems, including warming waters, sea level rise, and ocean acidification.   But they also learned that there is hope for corals to survive and even thrive into the future.  Research from around the globe over the past decade has demonstrated that there are a number of factors that confer resilience that we can proactively manage for to keep our reefs healthy and give them the greatest advantage.   Additionally, adopting adaptive management practices  (i.e. the flexibility to make changes as necessary) is key to effective management in this changing climate. 

Participants took all of this new knowledge into the water to look at three reefs with new eyes.  This has been probably the most valuable part of the trainings thus far, as even participants that have been in the water their whole life found that they saw things in a new way, with a new understanding of the reefs and the complex sets of factors that influence reef health.  

The MNMRC and CMMA groups are the most important new managers for the future of Maui's reefs, as they are the communities that are so connected to these precious resources.  CMMAs are known throughout the Pacific as LMMAs (Locally Marine Managed Area; http://www.lmmanetwork.org/) and have been hugely successful in the management of reefs in other island nations.  Co-management of the resources here in Hawai`i is the future.  We all have to work together to keep our reefs healthy for future generations.    

The Reef Resilience workshop goes to the field: Kahekili Beach Park
From left to right: John Seebart, Robin Knox, Eric Conklin, Liz Bodanski, Itana Silva, John Gorman, Larry Stevens, Takeo Miyaguchi, Lisa Agdeppa, Jonathan Lindsey, Darla White, and Linda Castro.  (Ekolu Lindsey took the photo)
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