Dear Glenn,
The long term goals and intentions of MAC are captured in the MAC Mission Statement:
"to conserve coral reefs and other marine ecosystems by creating standards and certification for those engaged in the collection and care of ornamental marine life from reef to aquarium."
MAC accomplishes its mission through the following activities:
* Establishing independent certification of best practice standards;
* Raising public awareness of the conservation role of the marine aquarium industry and hobbyists;
* Helping ensure there is objective, accurate data on the marine ornamental trade;
* Promoting the sustainable use of coral reefs and other marine ecosystems though the responsible collection of marine ornamental life;
* Ensuring the health and quality of marine ornamental life through responsible collection, handling and transporting practices; and
* Encouraging responsible husbandry through education and training.
MAMTI is simply a proposal for resources to support the kind of work that MAC undertakes in the Philippines and Indonesia, i.e. working with communities to develop multi-stakeholder reef and fisheries management plans they are able to be MAC Certified, working with marine ornamentals collectors to ensure they have the training in harvesting and post-harvest skills to become MAC Certified.
The MAMTI proposal is very similar in intent and content to what we are already doing to implement our mission. It is different in:
1. Scope - it is a more comprehensive and longer term approach to working in Indonesia and the Philippines, so the amount of resources to be involved are higher. This project proposal has been in the works for more than 2 years and the MAC Board of Directors, which includes individuals associated with the industry, trade associations, and hobbyist associations, has been aware of this.
2. Publicly available - the GEF publicly posts the projects it is involved in supporting. This project is part of the range of efforts undertaken by MAC to help ensure there is a sustainable future for the marine aquarium industry and hobby - and the collectors, their communities and coral reefs that make the marine aquarium industry and hobby possible.
With regards to the legislation that has been proposed in the US Congress, MAC was not aware that this had been drafted or submitted.
* There have been questions on Reefs.org about the following MAMTI proposal statement: "The only possibility to turn the tide of continuing reef degradation on a large scale is an approach that combines private sector incentives with government policy and regulation.":
MAC does not get involved in developing or advocating government policy and regulation and MAMTI does not support anything to do with this. The statement refers to the broader context linking the efforts of a responsible and sustainable industry and market (as verified by MAC Certification in this case) with the role of government in a complementary, mutually reinforcing manner.
It is the government’s role to develop and implement policy and regulation.
- e.g. existing policy re: coral reef conservation, sustainable fisheries, decentralization of control of nearshore resources
- e.g. existing regulation re: making cyanide use illegal, granting municipal authority to develop management plans for nearshore resources
The work of MAC, through the support of donor projects such as MAMTI, is the "private sector incentives" side of a coordinated and complimentary approach.
* There have been questions on Reefs.org about certification costs to retailers quoted in the MAMTI proposal:
These are broad, inclusive estimates of the investment of time and effort (which is most of it) and direct costs on the part of a retailer for start to finish in achieving certification.
This includes the time to: read the standards and supporting materials, attend a MAC seminar, phone or email to ask and discuss clarifications on issues of concern, develop the documentation system, train staff, etc; the actual cash costs of upgrading or reorganizing their facility depend entirely on what they are starting with; the costs of the certifier are a few hundred dollars for the days work and the travel costs.
Sincerely,
The Marine Aquarium Council
The long term goals and intentions of MAC are captured in the MAC Mission Statement:
"to conserve coral reefs and other marine ecosystems by creating standards and certification for those engaged in the collection and care of ornamental marine life from reef to aquarium."
MAC accomplishes its mission through the following activities:
* Establishing independent certification of best practice standards;
* Raising public awareness of the conservation role of the marine aquarium industry and hobbyists;
* Helping ensure there is objective, accurate data on the marine ornamental trade;
* Promoting the sustainable use of coral reefs and other marine ecosystems though the responsible collection of marine ornamental life;
* Ensuring the health and quality of marine ornamental life through responsible collection, handling and transporting practices; and
* Encouraging responsible husbandry through education and training.
MAMTI is simply a proposal for resources to support the kind of work that MAC undertakes in the Philippines and Indonesia, i.e. working with communities to develop multi-stakeholder reef and fisheries management plans they are able to be MAC Certified, working with marine ornamentals collectors to ensure they have the training in harvesting and post-harvest skills to become MAC Certified.
The MAMTI proposal is very similar in intent and content to what we are already doing to implement our mission. It is different in:
1. Scope - it is a more comprehensive and longer term approach to working in Indonesia and the Philippines, so the amount of resources to be involved are higher. This project proposal has been in the works for more than 2 years and the MAC Board of Directors, which includes individuals associated with the industry, trade associations, and hobbyist associations, has been aware of this.
2. Publicly available - the GEF publicly posts the projects it is involved in supporting. This project is part of the range of efforts undertaken by MAC to help ensure there is a sustainable future for the marine aquarium industry and hobby - and the collectors, their communities and coral reefs that make the marine aquarium industry and hobby possible.
With regards to the legislation that has been proposed in the US Congress, MAC was not aware that this had been drafted or submitted.
* There have been questions on Reefs.org about the following MAMTI proposal statement: "The only possibility to turn the tide of continuing reef degradation on a large scale is an approach that combines private sector incentives with government policy and regulation.":
MAC does not get involved in developing or advocating government policy and regulation and MAMTI does not support anything to do with this. The statement refers to the broader context linking the efforts of a responsible and sustainable industry and market (as verified by MAC Certification in this case) with the role of government in a complementary, mutually reinforcing manner.
It is the government’s role to develop and implement policy and regulation.
- e.g. existing policy re: coral reef conservation, sustainable fisheries, decentralization of control of nearshore resources
- e.g. existing regulation re: making cyanide use illegal, granting municipal authority to develop management plans for nearshore resources
The work of MAC, through the support of donor projects such as MAMTI, is the "private sector incentives" side of a coordinated and complimentary approach.
* There have been questions on Reefs.org about certification costs to retailers quoted in the MAMTI proposal:
These are broad, inclusive estimates of the investment of time and effort (which is most of it) and direct costs on the part of a retailer for start to finish in achieving certification.
This includes the time to: read the standards and supporting materials, attend a MAC seminar, phone or email to ask and discuss clarifications on issues of concern, develop the documentation system, train staff, etc; the actual cash costs of upgrading or reorganizing their facility depend entirely on what they are starting with; the costs of the certifier are a few hundred dollars for the days work and the travel costs.
Sincerely,
The Marine Aquarium Council
