Question

need to protect their earnings. in total, our residents currently earn about $10,000,000 per year from tourists visiting the reef. to support our residents, we need to keep their earnings from decreasing in the future.
the last statement is from the council treasurer, who manages the budget for all of the councils projects.
based on the councils budget for new projects, the council can spend up to $250,000 per year on solving this problem. the council should make sure that all costs for the solution stay within this budget. the budget may include costs for buying equipment, building new structures, and paying workers.
the council wants a solution that will meet the requirements of all three major interest groups. what must the solution do to meet this goal?
the solution must maintain earnings from tourism and stay within the councils budget. the solution must also restore the reefs coral cover.
the solution must restore coral cover and increase earnings from tourism. the solution can cost more than $250,000 per year if necessary.
the solution must decrease coral cover in order to maintain earnings from tourism. the solution also cannot cost more than the councils budget.

Explanation:

To determine the correct option, we analyze the requirements: the council needs to protect residents' earnings (maintain tourism income), stay within the $250,000 budget, and likely address reef health (implying restoring coral cover, as degrading it would not be a positive solution).

• The first option states the solution must maintain tourism earnings, stay within budget, and restore coral cover. This aligns with the council's goals (protect earnings, budget constraints, and addressing reef - related issues for interest groups).
• The second option says the solution can cost more than $250,000, which violates the budget constraint.
• The third option suggests decreasing coral cover, which is not a beneficial solution for the reef and likely not in the interest of groups concerned with the reef's health.

Answer:

The solution must maintain earnings from tourism and stay within the council's budget. The solution must also restore the reef's coral cover.