Coral Reef Anthropology

If you’ve ever visited a coral reef there is no doubt that its beauty, diversity and many sea inhabitants probably captivated you. My first experience snorkeling in Belize was exactly this. I travelled to Belize on an Alternative Service Break trip with a group of students and we worked on a sustainable agriculture project with local cacao farmers. We got to go snorkeling as a fun activity and break from all of our hard work. The snorkeling crew that lead our group throughout the excursion, let us swim down and pick up anything we wanted to. At the time I never thought about the negative impacts that groups like ours theoretically made on these reefs by exploring them. Are we exploring or are we exploiting them?
Coral reefs sustain an estimated twenty-five percent of all marine life, with more than 4,000 species of fish alone. Coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world with thousands of species relying on reefs for survival. Healthy coral ecosystems not only support marine life, but they also support local businesses and economies, as well as provide jobs through tourism and recreation. Every year, millions of scuba divers and snorkelers visit coral reefs to enjoy their …show more content…
A deontological perspective influences my goalpost shift because I feel it is ethically right to conserve coral reefs even though it has negative impacts on the economies and local businesses in developing countries. However, there is a difficult and controversial question that arises. Conserving coral reefs will protect thousands of diverse sea life for years to come, but what about those that depend on these reefs to provide for their families? DesJardins conveys that we ought to conserve resources, because we have a duty to future generations. (DesJardins, p. 40) This idea of “duty” to protect our resources for future generations is precisely what my goal post shift

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