![\"IMG_0321.JPG\"](\"http:\/\/wsa.seagrassonline.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/IMG_0321.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nI caught up with Mike to chat about challenges for seagrass science and conservation in South-East Asia:<\/p>\n
Q (Siti): There are obviously a lot of gaps in our knowledge of tropical seagrass ecosystems in the Indo-Pacific. What do you think are the three most pressing issues that need to be addressed as soon as possible?<\/p>\n
A (Mike Fortes): The three challenges I have in mind are related and inter-connected and it’s difficult to separate them, but firstly there has to be a solid scientific base (e.g. baseline knowledge) to work with in SE Asia, which is lacking. Secondly, there is a lack of understanding of science and that needs to be understood by managers and stockholders. As scientists we need to be involved in the communication of our work. And thirdly, all this knowledge and understanding needs to be translated into policy. Science needs to form the basis for management and policy decisions. <\/p>\n
Q: Do you think a different approach is needed for outreach and communication to raise awareness of seagrass habitats and science communication in the South-East Asian region compared to other regions in the world?<\/p>\n
A: In general it’s not that a different approach is needed, but that a serious and affective approach is required. By affective I mean that our outreach efforts have to affect or touch people at a deeper level – what we communicate has to resound with those we are trying to communicate with. <\/p>\n
Q: What’s your take on the state of seagrass science in the region and what do you think we should aim for?<\/p>\n
A: We need to address the issues at root of the problem. Sometimes the most pressing issues have solutions that are right in front of us but require an approach that is out of the “science toolbox”. For example if there’s discharge affecting water quality and subsequently seagrass in an area, the most direct solution is to first stop the discharge and sometimes this requires us talking to politicians and decision makers first before we apply a solution based on our science and knowledge of seagrass habitats.<\/p>\n
Thanks Mike for sharing your thoughts!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Day two of the 11th International Seagrass Biology Workshop opened with Mike Fortes issuing a challenge to seagrass scientists to lead the charge on raising awareness on seagrass habitats in the morning’s plenary. Mike believes that there is still much work to be done on seagrass science and management in the tropics and especially in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[16,3],"class_list":["post-353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conferences-workshops","tag-chats","tag-isbw"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Cwsq-5H","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":65,"url":"https:\/\/wsa.seagrassonline.org\/blog\/archives\/65","url_meta":{"origin":353,"position":0},"title":"World Oceans Day","author":"Giuseppe","date":"8 June, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Raising the voice for the world\u2019s seagrass on World Oceans Day Seagrass meadows around the world continue to be under threat from the activities of humans. Over fishing, climate change, coastal development, extreme weather and poor land management are all contributing to the continued global loss of these diverse and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Outreach\"","block_context":{"text":"Outreach","link":"https:\/\/wsa.seagrassonline.org\/blog\/archives\/tag\/outreach"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wsa.seagrassonline.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/fish_posidonia-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":225,"url":"https:\/\/wsa.seagrassonline.org\/blog\/archives\/225","url_meta":{"origin":353,"position":1},"title":"“Seagrass meadows in a globally changing environment” WSA Special Issue in Marine Pollution Bulletin","author":"Siti","date":"17 September, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Dear Members We would like to invite all members of the World Seagrass Association to submit articles for a WSA special issue of the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin titled \u201cSeagrass meadows in a globally changing environment\u201d. A description of the special issue and its proposed content is listed below. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70,"url":"https:\/\/wsa.seagrassonline.org\/blog\/archives\/70","url_meta":{"origin":353,"position":2},"title":"The charisma challenge","author":"Ainsley","date":"16 June, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"How can we increase the profile of seagrass ecosystems? Some practical steps for communication. submitted by Tim Carruthers As seagrass scientists we take it as a given that: seagrasses form highly valuable ecosystems, and; seagrasses are threatened by nutrient and sediment inputs, resulting in large scale losses in many locations.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":342,"url":"https:\/\/wsa.seagrassonline.org\/blog\/archives\/342","url_meta":{"origin":353,"position":3},"title":"Expressions of interest to host ISBW12","author":"Ainsley","date":"3 September, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The World Seagrass Association Inc. invites expressions of interest from members and interested organisations\/institutions who would like to host the 12th International Seagrass Biology Workshop (ISBW) in 2016. The International Seagrass Biology Workshop series is a meeting of research scientists, students and coastal environment managers focusing on global seagrass issues,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Conferences & Workshops"","block_context":{"text":"Conferences & Workshops","link":"https:\/\/wsa.seagrassonline.org\/blog\/archives\/category\/conferences-workshops"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":199,"url":"https:\/\/wsa.seagrassonline.org\/blog\/archives\/199","url_meta":{"origin":353,"position":4},"title":"Notes from the Field: South Florida","author":"Siti","date":"23 May, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"22nd May is International Day for Biodiversity and the theme for 2012 is Marine Biodiversity. In celebration, we will be featuring a series of articles on seagrass. This week, Elizabeth \u201cZ\u201d Lacey writes about her experiences in the long-term monitoring project in the seagrass beds of South Florida under the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes from the field"","block_context":{"text":"Notes from the field","link":"https:\/\/wsa.seagrassonline.org\/blog\/archives\/category\/nftf"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wsa.seagrassonline.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/FLO1-300x214.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":309,"url":"https:\/\/wsa.seagrassonline.org\/blog\/archives\/309","url_meta":{"origin":353,"position":5},"title":"Notes from the field: A wee taste of Scottish seagrass","author":"Siti","date":"17 February, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Every so often, we feature seagrass meadows from all over the world. This week, Maria Potouroglou writes about seagrass in Scotland. Maria is a PhD student at Edinburgh Napier University studying carbon sinks in seagrass. 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