Destruction of the Coral Reefs {Terry Garcia, NOAA} BEGINS BY NOTING THAT SCIENTISTS, POLICYMAKERS AND OTHERS INCREASINGLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE HEALTH OF MARINE ECOSYTEMS...WITNESSED BY THE HIGH-PROFILE OCEANS CONFERENCE HELD JUST OVER A WEEK AGO WHERE PRESIDENT CLINTON ATTENDED AND PROMISED $6 MILLION TO COMBAT THREATS TO REEFS.....HOT ON THE HEELS OF THIS COMMITMENT, WRI’S NEW FINDINGS HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF TAKING ACTION QUICKLY.... By Laura Leyda and Jennifer Engler 1

Coral Reefs … What they are Why they are important How they are being destroyed How to help preserve them We know surprisingly little about these biologically unique ecosystems. Much of our global picture of reefs dates from Darwin’s days....his explorations led to the first global map of reefs. Although we have improved on this map, to date we don’t know the condition of reefs world-wide, although experts have made back-of-the-envelope guesstimates.

How are Coral Reefs Made? Corals (tiny animals, called polyps) secrete stony cup of limestone around themselves as a skeleton The polyps divide as they grow and form coral colonies - As the coral colonies build up on top of each other, they gradually form a coral reef Individual colonies may be up to 1000 years old & Coral reefs may be many thousands of years old Polyps Today the World Resources Institute will unveil the results of a two-year study.....the first-ever systematic, data-driven assessment of threats to coral reefs around the world.

Reef locations Grow mainly in warm areas between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn Most diverse is the Great Barrier Reef in Australia - over 3000 different plants and animals

Types of Reefs Fringing Reef – lie around islands & continents & are separated from the shorelines by lagoons Barrier Reef – grow on the edge of continental shelves and also are separated from shorelines by lagoons Atolls – a central lagoon and are circular or sub- circular. There are two types of atolls: deep sea atolls that rise from deep sea and those found on the continental shelf.

Types of Reefs Fringing Reef Barrier Reef Atolls

Why Reefs Are Important… Biodiversity importance As a Food Resource Source of Economic Wealth Medicinal Use Let me tell you what is at stake... 9

Coral reefs are often called the “Rainforests of the Sea” About 4,000 species of fish and 800 species of reef-building coral have been identified .......our natural heritage......reefs have been likened to the rainforests of the sea......harboring more species than any other aquatic habitat.....

As a vital food source Globally, one-fifth of all animal protein consumed by humans comes from marine environments Coral reefs provide food for one billion people in Asia alone .......a source of food for the world’s poor. One-fifth of all animal protein consumed by humans comes from the sea. According to one estimate, reef s provide fish and seafood for one billion people in Asia alone, many of them among the planet’s most impoverished citizens....

Economic importance due to tourism ... Florida’s reefs contribute $1.6 billion to the economy from tourism alone Caribbean countries derive half of their GDP from tourism ($8.9 billion in 1990) ......economic opportunities....reefs are a major tourism draw, and tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the global economy...

Coral reefs can save human lives... Treat infections, viruses, and other diseases Prevent and treat skin cancer Provide bone grafts .....new medicinal cures.....in recent years bacterial infections in humans have become increasingly resistant to antibiotics. Coral reef species hold forth particular promise for scientists seeking new drugs to combat disease. Indeed, one-half of all new cancer research may focus on marine organisms..

Coral reefs are a valuable resource Average Global Value of Ecosystem Services ($/HA/YR) .....in all, reefs have been estimated to provide some $375 billion dollars a year in environmental goods and services to the world’s people. Their degradation has far-reaching biological and economic consequences to current and future generations. "As the 'rain forests of the sea,' coral reefs provide services estimated to be worth as much as $375 billion annually, a staggering figure for an ecosystem covering less than one percent of the Earth's surface."   --U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, March 2000

Threats to Coral Reefs From… Coastal development Pollution Marine inland Overfishing/ Destructive fishing Overexploitation of Resources Natural Disturbances For purposes of our analysis, we examined threats to reefs from 4 broad categories. - Coastal development - Marine pollution - Overexploitation - Inland pollution and sediments

Coastal development ... Dredging Construction materials Building on reefs Unregulated tourism Coastal Development has both direct and indirect impacts on reefs. Dredging of harbors, extraction of coral for construction materials, and building things such as airports atop coral reefs result in their out right destruction. Sewage discharge from coastal communities promotes growth of algae blocking sunlight, which corals need to survive. Even tourism, when unregulated, can pose a problem.

Tourism/ Recreation corals easily broken by trampling when people walk out to the reef; snorkelers and divers may kill polyps simply by touching coral colonies Although tourist $ are one of the greatest incentives for protecting these ecosystems, tourists are capable of loving of a reef to death. Touching, taking bits and trampling reefs are small impacts, which, individually, can accumulate to weaken or destroy a reef.

Marine Pollution Oil spills Discharge of oily ballast water Large power plants change water temperatures by discharging extremely hot water into the coastal water We used a similar approach to predict where reefs are threatened by marine- based pollution. Especially oil spills from tankers and rigs and discharge of oily ballast water from boats.

Inland Pollution Erosion from increased forest clearing & intense agriculture causes silt to wash into water, clouding it, and suffocating the coral Sewage & agricultural fertilizer runoff increases nutrients in ocean, which produces more seaweed that hurts the coral Lack of sunlight from eutrophication/turbidity can cause bleaching

Overfishing removal of reef fish causes ecosystems to be unbalanced allows more competitive organisms, such as algae, to become dominant

Destructive fishing damages reefs Due to decreased yields, fishermen forced to change methods to catch enough fish to sustain needs: Fishing with cyanide Blast Fishing Not only do these practices kill all fish in the affected areas but also severely damage the corals In many areas, fishers use dynamite or poisons, which devastate corals. The men pictured here are using cyanide in order to stun live fish, for sale in the very lucrative “live fish trade” in southeast Asia. Chinese in Hong Kong have paid as much as $300 per plate for a live fish dinner. But, this is risky business for the fisherman and devastating for the coral reefs.

Destructive fishing practices in Southeast Asia are widespread Areas at High Risk To capture these threats, we mapped areas where destructive fishing is rampant, using a combination of expert opinion and documented occurrences of blast or cyanide fishing. In addition, we used population density to identify areas at risk from overfishing. 36

Overexploitation Corals popular as decorations, jewelry, and souvenirs People collect pieces of coral themselves buy pieces from a "curios" shop – shops receive corals from well developed colonies to make them the most money Coral is also mined – used to build houses and make roads, or is burnt to make lime. Use for aquariums

Natural disturbances Destroyed by hurricanes and tropical storms Diseases, such as black-band disease – spreads over colonies, progressively killing the polyps The crown-of-thorns starfish feeds on corals, if many, can reduce a reef to a mass of dead coral skeletons quickly

…Coral Bleaching greenhouse effect - may cause increases in sea temperature Sea water that becomes too warm causes corals to turn white, or bleach, a reaction that occurs if coral polyps are stressed.

Overexploitation and coastal development are the greatest threats to reefs ...sixth finding...globally, we found overfishing and destructive fishing practices pose the most far-reaching threat to reefs. Just as commercial hunters gunned down the buffalo in the American West a hundred years ago, leaving empty grasslands in their wake, fishers are plundering even the most remote reefs of groupers, giant clams and other valued species. We were able to document that 36% of all reefs are threatened as a result of these activities.....but we know this is a conservative estimate. 48 36

The Reefs at Risk indicator Finally, we integrated our 4 threat Maps with reef locations to build an overall Map of Threats to Reefs (as shown here). Reefs classified as at risk are those that were threatened by at least 1 of the 4 categories we considered. Reefs at high risk (those in red) are the areas where, in the absence of good management to protect the resource, reef degradation would be expected to occur. It is important to note that we did not have the technology of the data to implement this analysis a few year ago. This is a new, cost-effective approach to looking at threats to these ecosystems. Dirk will now present some of the key findings from this analysis. Low Risk Medium Risk High Risk 46

Disturbing Results… 58% of the world’s reefs are at risk from human activities Reefs of Southeast Asia are the most threatened 90% of reefs are overfished Almost two-thirds of Caribbean reefs are threatened Coral Graveyard {DIRK BRYANT} I’m going to run through seven key findings that came out of our study... ....first of all, most of the world’s reefs are threatened today. 58 percent were found at risk, and over a quarter at high risk. The picture is especially grim within some regions and countries.... 47

The world’s reefs are not sufficiently protected ... 40 countries contain no protected reef areas Management goals of most marine protected areas (MPAs) are not met ...finally, the world’s reefs are woefully unprotected. At least 40 countries of the world fail to offer any form of protection to their reefs in the form of marine parks or reserves. Where such sanctuaries exist, most are poorly protected. And more than a third of marine protected areas which encompass reefs.....150 sites.....are less than a square kilometer (a few hundred acres) in size....far below the minimum size needed to maintain their biological integrity.

Preserving Coral Reefs “Reefs at Risk” Project to make people aware of the status of coral reefs Has developed series of indicators of human pressures on coral reefs

Treating sewage protects reefs and human health ...treating domestic sewage and minimizing agricultural runoff leads to improved water quality, which has both environmental and health benefits...

Solutions to threats of Coral Reefs ...   Promote sustainable use of marine resources.   Impose environmental regulations on imports of fish that are caught using blast or cyanide fishing methods.   Increase number and size of marine protected zones.   Encourage research and testing on aquaculture that could provide a large supply of desirable seafood. …in the report, we summarize some of the actions that can be taken to combat threats to reefs. These include… ...promoting economic activities that are good for both reefs and people ...coastal zone management and planning ...education…teaching communities how to manage their reefs so they provide a long-term source of jobs and income …involving people that live near reefs in decision making…so that they feel they have a stake in helping to conserve these habitats …law enforcement …and outright reef protection

…Solutions Continued Increase public education on the value of coral reef animals and plants to the entire planet   Continue monitoring coral reefs to evaluate the impacts and solutions to these impacts and to determine if management practices are working and whether endangered species are recovering.

Seven success stories Apo Bermuda In our report we also profile 7 signs of promise…areas where communities are successfully applying these solutions to protect their reef resources… …for example, in Bermuda, where the tourism industry was generating 7 million more than revenues from trap fishing, a practice which resulted in precipitous declines in key reef fish speci8es, business and government have gotten fishers to give up these destructive harvesting practices… …or off of Apo Island in the Philippines, local communities have set up reef sanctuaries, generating tourism dollars and improving fish catch in surrounding waters… …ultimately it is there frontline efforts that will assure that reefs at risk today are maintained as healthy ecosystems in the future.

Healthy Reefs