74
WORLD ATLAS OF CORAL REEFS
Certification schemes
One tool which Is increasingly being used as
a nneans to promote sustainable utilization of
the world's resources is that of certification, or
"ecolabeling". Utilizing reliable and independently
derived international standards in a certification
process, industries or accredited organizations
have the right to place a certificate or label on their
products informing consumers that the product
was produced, gathered or harvested in a sustainable fashion, with little or no impact on the
environment. Consumers are equally encouraged
to select these products, confident that they come
from sustainable and well managed sources. In
many cases consumer concern about the environment and sustainabillty is high, and many
consumers are prepared, If necessary, to pay
higher costs for these products.
These ideas have been applied to a limited
number of fisheries, with perhaps the most
notable being the certified "dolphin-friendly" tuna
being marketed in many Western nations. One
leading organization In this field is the Marine
Stewardship Council IMSCI, established in 1996
by WWF, the conservation organization. In partnership with Unilever, a major multinational corporation with an Interest In fisheries. The focus of
the MSC has been towards food fisheries, but no
coral reef food fishery has yet been certified to
MSC standards.
One other major fishery In the coral reef
environment is that of the aquarium trade, which
has a very high value, but relatively low volume of
trade, predominantly operating between developing
coral reef nations and aquarium hobbyists in
North America and Europe. To date this trade
remains relatively poorly documented, and largely
uncontrolled (with the exception of hard coral
species). In 1998, the Marine Aquarium Council
IMACl was established as an International
organization to achieve market-driven quality
and sustainabillty for the collection of marine
ornamental species, most of which come from coral
reefs. To achieve these aims, MAC has been
developing standards for products and practices
(ecosystem management, collection, handling and
husbandry], but also establishing a system to certify
and label compliance with these standards, and
creating consumer demand for certification and
labeling. Pilot schemes were to be tested in early
2001, linking collection and export operations with
importers and retailers. Parallel programs were to
be run raising awareness amongst hobbyists,
industry and the public, prior to release of a full
certification system later the same year
Certification systems established by independent international multi-stakeholder organizations
such as the MSC and MAC have considerable
potential for helping to ensure that reef fisheries
are sustainable. The critical factors that will
determine the success or failure of these schemes
are consumer Interest and acceptance, combined
with rigorous and reliable standards to ensure
sustainabillty. If consumers do not select certified
fish or fish products, and/or If the certification does
not actually contribute significantly to sustainabillty,
the ecolabeling program will not achieve its goals.
schools, recognize tourists" interest in a clean environment
and healthy reefs and may adjust their environmental
practices accordingly. At another level, some communities
or individual fishers in Southeast Asia have found more
lucrative and sustainable incomes by taking tourist boats
to coral reefs, and in a few areas local communities have
set certain areas aside for tourist use without the need
for legal designations.
Future directions with this may include certification
schemes or other systems which allow tourists to select their
destinations and hotels in advance, and to avoid those areas
or hotels which are major polluters or are making no efforts
towards conservation. Schemes have been adopted in some
parts of the world where tourist beaches are provided awards
for environmental quality, and have been seen to have a
significant influence on consumer choice. Other initiatives
for marking hotels according to their environmental impact
are being considered in some regions.
Even away from the reefs themselves, consumers can
have an impact. The aquarium trade is a major industry
bringing coral reef species from coral reefs around the
world to consumers, mostly in the USA and Europe. At
the present time this trade is poorly monitored, but efforts
to develop a certification scheme as a means of supporting the sustainable development of this industry are now
underway (see box).
WORLD ATLAS OF CORAL REEFS
Certification schemes
One tool which Is increasingly being used as
a nneans to promote sustainable utilization of
the world's resources is that of certification, or
"ecolabeling". Utilizing reliable and independently
derived international standards in a certification
process, industries or accredited organizations
have the right to place a certificate or label on their
products informing consumers that the product
was produced, gathered or harvested in a sustainable fashion, with little or no impact on the
environment. Consumers are equally encouraged
to select these products, confident that they come
from sustainable and well managed sources. In
many cases consumer concern about the environment and sustainabillty is high, and many
consumers are prepared, If necessary, to pay
higher costs for these products.
These ideas have been applied to a limited
number of fisheries, with perhaps the most
notable being the certified "dolphin-friendly" tuna
being marketed in many Western nations. One
leading organization In this field is the Marine
Stewardship Council IMSCI, established in 1996
by WWF, the conservation organization. In partnership with Unilever, a major multinational corporation with an Interest In fisheries. The focus of
the MSC has been towards food fisheries, but no
coral reef food fishery has yet been certified to
MSC standards.
One other major fishery In the coral reef
environment is that of the aquarium trade, which
has a very high value, but relatively low volume of
trade, predominantly operating between developing
coral reef nations and aquarium hobbyists in
North America and Europe. To date this trade
remains relatively poorly documented, and largely
uncontrolled (with the exception of hard coral
species). In 1998, the Marine Aquarium Council
IMACl was established as an International
organization to achieve market-driven quality
and sustainabillty for the collection of marine
ornamental species, most of which come from coral
reefs. To achieve these aims, MAC has been
developing standards for products and practices
(ecosystem management, collection, handling and
husbandry], but also establishing a system to certify
and label compliance with these standards, and
creating consumer demand for certification and
labeling. Pilot schemes were to be tested in early
2001, linking collection and export operations with
importers and retailers. Parallel programs were to
be run raising awareness amongst hobbyists,
industry and the public, prior to release of a full
certification system later the same year
Certification systems established by independent international multi-stakeholder organizations
such as the MSC and MAC have considerable
potential for helping to ensure that reef fisheries
are sustainable. The critical factors that will
determine the success or failure of these schemes
are consumer Interest and acceptance, combined
with rigorous and reliable standards to ensure
sustainabillty. If consumers do not select certified
fish or fish products, and/or If the certification does
not actually contribute significantly to sustainabillty,
the ecolabeling program will not achieve its goals.
schools, recognize tourists" interest in a clean environment
and healthy reefs and may adjust their environmental
practices accordingly. At another level, some communities
or individual fishers in Southeast Asia have found more
lucrative and sustainable incomes by taking tourist boats
to coral reefs, and in a few areas local communities have
set certain areas aside for tourist use without the need
for legal designations.
Future directions with this may include certification
schemes or other systems which allow tourists to select their
destinations and hotels in advance, and to avoid those areas
or hotels which are major polluters or are making no efforts
towards conservation. Schemes have been adopted in some
parts of the world where tourist beaches are provided awards
for environmental quality, and have been seen to have a
significant influence on consumer choice. Other initiatives
for marking hotels according to their environmental impact
are being considered in some regions.
Even away from the reefs themselves, consumers can
have an impact. The aquarium trade is a major industry
bringing coral reef species from coral reefs around the
world to consumers, mostly in the USA and Europe. At
the present time this trade is poorly monitored, but efforts
to develop a certification scheme as a means of supporting the sustainable development of this industry are now
underway (see box).