Life in the Balance: Coral Reefs Are Declining

Government Report Says Pollution and Climate Changes Threaten Coral Reefs

ABC News, CLAYTON SANDELL, July 7, 2008

Coral reefs — a key element in ocean ecosystems that provide not only coastline protection but billions of dollars in benefits from tourism, as well as ingredients used in cutting-edge medicines — are increasingly threatened from the effects of global warming and other hazards, according to a new U.S. government report.

The report estimates that nearly half of the coral reefs in areas from the Caribbean to the Pacific "are not in good condition and are continuing steadily on a long-term decline."

A gov't report estimates that nearly half of the coral reefs in areas from the Caribbean to the Pacific are threatened by climate change, pollution and tropical storms. (Getty Images)

"It's a pretty alarming situation," said Jeannette Waddell, the report's co-editor and a marine biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Ocean Service. "Coral reefs around the world are confronted by the same types of threats. In some places it is worse. In some places, it's slightly better.

 

But we're finding that even remote reefs are showing signs of decline," she told ABC News. The NOAA report looked at the health of coral reefs in 15 areas under the jurisdiction of the United States and a group of countries called the Pacific Freely Associated States, which include Palau, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.

 

First, warmer ocean temperatures cause corals to expel the colorful living algae in their tissues, leaving them with a "bleached" white look.

 

"It really stresses out the coral and makes them more susceptible to things like disease," Waddell said.

 

A major bleaching and disease event in 2005 devastated coral reefs across the Caribbean. In the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, scientists say an average of 50 percent of the coral was lost. Some areas lost 90 percent of their coral.

 

Another problem for corals is that human-induced climate change is altering the chemistry of the oceans, making them more acidic. It happens as fossil fuels are burned, releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Much of that carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean, which becomes more corrosive.

 

"If the ocean continues to acidify, it's possible that it would preclude corals from growing, because they won't be able to draw the nutrients and elements out of the water that they need to create the structures that they produce as coral colonies," Waddell said. "It's also possible that ocean acidification may become so extreme that it may begin to dissolve the corals that already exist, which would spell disaster for costal communities."

 

A 1997 report in the science journal Nature estimated that the resources and economic benefits derived from coral reefs are worth $375 billion a year.

 

"Coral reefs only cover about one percent of the world's surface, but they are a very diverse and important environment or ecosystem," said Mark Monaco, a marine biologist with NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science.

 

"They provide us fisheries, they provide us culture from the cultural resources, they provide us pharmaceuticals, and they provide us protection from storm events," he told ABC News.

 

In areas that have been hit by severe tsunamis, experts point out that damage is usually less severe in places with intact coral reefs just offshore.

 

Some corals have recently gotten better protections from the federal government. In 2006, two coral species were designated as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.

 

Climate change isn't the only threat to coral reefs. Tropical storms, coastal pollution, even boats and their anchors are serious concerns.

 

"The declining conditions that we're seeing is exacerbated by having a number of threats work together to cause the decline," Waddell said.

 

The report — the work of 270 contributors — is being presented today at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

 

"I think if we don't change the way we're going with these reef ecosystems we can't expect them to get better," Monaco says. "So we're going to have to make some hard choices — society-wise, political-wise, economic-wise — to protect these ecosystems."

 

UOW to lead major study of Indonesian marine fisheries

University of Wollongong, 4 Jul 2008 | Bernie Goldie

 

A research team from the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) at the University of Wollongong has won a major four-year, $1.5 million nationally competitive research grant that could have a significant impact on marine fisheries in Indonesia.

 

The project is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

 

The University team is led by Associate Professor Ron West, a leading Australian fisheries scientist and includes Professor Martin Tsamenyi and Dr Mary Ann Palma, experts in ocean law and policy. The CSIRO (Marine and Atmospheric Research) and the Indonesian Ministry for Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) will be collaborators in the research.

 

Indonesian fisheries are among the largest and most productive worldwide, and are critical to that nation’s economic development and in providing food resources to millions of people.

 

Based on the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation's (FAO) data for 2004, about 4.5 million tonnes of marine fish (valued at about $US3.2 billion) are harvested by millions of people using a wide range of fishing gears, including hundreds of thousands of fishing boats.

 

Professor West said this places Indonesian marine capture fisheries among the top five in terms of fisheries production.

 

FAO data have shown that many regency, provincial and national government agencies are involved in administering these fisheries and that the current arrangements have led to a confused situation where “effective management is difficult to achieve”.

 

As a result of the lack of effective management, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing throughout Indonesian waters has become a major issue that confounds attempts to manage fish stocks.

 

"Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop effective assessment and policy frameworks to better manage Indonesian fisheries," Professor West said.

 

The primary objective of the research project will be to develop a better understanding of the characteristics of the many of the district and provincial fisheries throughout Indonesia (for example, details of the fishing methods, capture species, fished areas, unregulated fishing activities, licensing and regulatory framework) and to investigate new and innovative assessment and management approaches.

 

It will require a detailed survey of fish markets throughout Java, Lombok and Bali, and investigating policy options with the goal of improving long-term sustainability.

 

"This project is likely to have significant impacts on marine fisheries in Indonesia, such as improvements in the quality of fisheries data, stock assessments, fishery information; increased capacity in terms of fisheries management, particularly within provincial government; adoption, broader dissemination and further refinement of resource assessment methodologies; and, new policy and regulatory frameworks," Professor West said.

 

It is expected that the research will lead to the establishment of more effective fisheries management; greater sustainability in fishing practices; improved food security; more sustainable catches; economic benefits to local communities; and, increased government revenue.

Related Article:

RI, Australia coordinate patrols to target illegal fishing

UNESCO supports planned world ocean conference in Manado

The Jakarta Post

Antara, Manado | Fri, 07/04/2008 6:39 PM 

 

UNESCO has pledged its support for the World Ocean Conference (WOC) to be held in Manado from May 11 to 15, 2009 as part of efforts to deal with global warming.

 

"Several member states of UNESCO have expressed their readiness to participate in WOC in Manado, as their response to the threat of environmental and marine degradation," North Sulawesi Governor Sinyo Sarundajang told the press here on Friday.

 

Sarundajang attended the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Forum, the 41st Session of the UNESCO Executive Council, in Paris from June 24 to July 1, 2008.

 

Some 50 countries attending the UNESCO forum expressed their support for the Indonesian government initiative to organize WOC because marine environmental preservation is crucial for the whole world, he said.

 

The governor and Indonesian Ambassador to UNESCO Aman Wirakartakusumah was asked to present the plans for WOC at the UNESCO meeting.

 

They also held a meeting with UNESCO World Heritage Center deputy director Kishore Rao to report on what North Sulawesi had done to prepare its Bunaken Marine Park as a world marine biodiversity site.

Govt raises ship fares, opens bus route to Brunei

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 07/03/2008 10:38 AM

The government has increased ship fares for passengers and vehicles at 18 harbors by an average of 8.64 percent beginning today due to skyrocketing fuel prices, and has introduced the country's first bus route to Brunei Darussalam.

Ferry fares between Ketapang on the eastern tip of Java and the west coast of Bali have been raised by 2.64 percent, and between Gorontalo in northern Sulawesi and Wakai in Central Sulawesi by 9.79 percent.

The highest fare increase is 13.32 percent for ferries between Siwa in South Sulawesi and Lasusua in Southeast Sulawesi.

Bambang S. Ervan, head of public communication at the Transportation Ministry, said Wednesday the increases were calculated according to the distances of the different routes.

He said the new fares were not only important to help shipping companies cope with rising operational costs, but also to maintain safety through the maintenance and upgrade of aging ships.

"Out of 214 ships operating in the 18 harbors, 143 are more than 20 years old and only 19 ships are less than 10 years old," he said.

The Transportation Ministry also announced plans to open the first bus route connecting Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, via Malaysia, by the end of this month following a surge in demand from migrant workers traveling to the oil-producing country on Boreno Island.

Sugihardjo, head of road transportation at the ministry, said Wednesday the route would connect Pontianak in West Kalimantan and Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei Darussalam, through Kuching and Miri in Malaysia's northern part of Borneo.

"We will open the route after we successfully implemented the Pontianak-Kuching route in the early 1990s," he said.

Sugihardjo said the new route would help passengers who frequently complained about expensive fares charged by unlicensed bus operations.

"We will run the new route because the number of passengers reaches between 200 and 250 per day," he said.

He said his office would appoint bus companies PT Damri and PT Setiajiwana Sakti to provide buses for the route.

"The buses will carry passengers from Pontianak to Bandar Seri Begawan twice a day," he said.

He said that Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia had not yet decided which companies they would appoint to supply buses for their legs of the route.

"Brunei will also carry passengers twice a day, while Malaysia will serve passengers once per day," he said.

Iskandar Abubakar, director general for Land Transportation, said the three countries would hold a final meeting to discuss the new route on July 17 and 18.

"I hope we can reach agreement on the route opening during this final meeting," he said.

He said his office was also planning to open bus routes connecting to two other neighboring countries -- Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste.

"We have been discussing this with the Papua New Guinea government since 2007 but we have not yet reached an agreement," he said.