{"id":312922,"date":"2019-11-28T06:00:55","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T20:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=312922"},"modified":"2019-11-28T06:00:55","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T20:00:55","slug":"we-ask-for-advice-and-then-ignore-it-that-needs-to-stop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/we-ask-for-advice-and-then-ignore-it-that-needs-to-stop\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We ask for advice and then ignore it. That needs to stop\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
Google Earth (Digital Globe) Satellite Imagery shows that corals outside the Managaha Swim Zone are relatively healthy compared to within the swim zone ropes, where they are grey and dead.\u00a0(Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Afraid of catastrophic flooding? Let\u2019s keep our corals healthy.<\/p>\n

Corals provide a buffer against waves, storms, and floods, helping prevent erosion, property damage, and deaths. Saipan\u2019s coral reef systems, particularly the barrier and fringing reefs along the west side of the island, are the key to preventing catastrophic flooding under storm scenarios. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis means keeping our coral as healthy as possible,\u201d said Robbie Greene, coastal management specialist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. <\/p>\n

In many cases, even after prolonged exposure to thermal stress, corals can still recover from bleaching. However, they can only do this if they are healthy and with the community\u2019s help. That can be done now with two actions: reducing the amount of pollutant loads and sediment that get dumped into the reefs during heavy rains and putting an end to tourist behaviors that damage corals. <\/p>\n

Preventing sediments<\/strong>
\n\u201cWhenever the stormwater drainages in Garapan are released into the [Saipan] Lagoon, we are pouring gasoline on the fire,\u201d Greene said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe sediment plumes we see reaching far out into the lagoon, from San Roque all the way down to Sugar Dock after a heavy rainfall, create stress on the reef, and the nutrient loading that accompanies some of that runoff can promote harmful algal growth on top of it all,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

About 10 years ago, the CNMI government contracted out the development of a Saipan Lagoon Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Plan, and the No. 1 recommendation to improve lagoon and reef health was the creation of large-scale stormwater ponding basins at key points in the Garapan\/Tapochau Watershed. <\/p>\n

The Saipan Lagoon Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Plan, released in September 2013, considered the construction of the basins as the most cost-effective and efficient management measure to efficiently collect the majority of sediment, nutrient, and contaminant laden runoff that would otherwise become directly washed into the lagoon. <\/p>\n

The preferred alternative in the SLAERP was to use the area where the old cockfighting arena was on Middle Road as a massive retention and filtration area, diverting significant accumulations of stormwater and sediment into the basin. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe space is now a \u201cbusiness hotel\u201d and parking lot. We ask for advice and then ignore it, and that needs to stop,\u201d Greene said.<\/p>\n

Changing tourist behaviors<\/strong>
\nThe direct damage that tourists are doing to the CNMI reefs is astounding.<\/p>\n

A look at a Google Earth image of the Managaha Swim Zone reveals an area that is grey and dead in contrast to corals looking relatively healthy just inches outside the roped swim zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of this means that folks in decision-making positions will need to make some unpopular decisions. We need a shift in perspective,\u201d Greene suggests. <\/p>\n

Greene further explained that, while in the near-term, tourists want to touch corals and carve their names underwater on the Grotto substrate, in the long-term though, they will not come to the islands if there is no living coral left. <\/p>\n

Also, in the near-term, investors want to invest directly along the shoreline, and in areas where supporting infrastructure is threatened by sea level rise and future storms. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not popular to dissuade investment,\u201d Greene said, \u201cbut ultimately we compromise our economic future and the Commonwealth\u2019s future when we knowingly grow the physical and economic landscape directly into harm\u2019s path.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the CNMI, the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality\u2019s Division of Coastal Resource Management implements the Coral Reef Initiative, a cross-agency initiative to protect and preserve the islands\u2019 coral reefs, as well as the resources associated with those habitats. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Afraid of catastrophic flooding? Let\u2019s keep our corals healthy. Corals provide a buffer against waves,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":309809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-312922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}