coral reefs

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Reefs at risk

By TAN CHENG LI

SOUTH-EAST Asian coral reefs – easily the world’s most important and

extensive marine system – are more threatened than earlier reports had

estimated.

A study shows that 88% of these reefs are suffering from an onslaught of

human activities, particularly overfishing, destructive fishing methods,

sedimentation and pollution from land-based sources.

 

Coral reefs support as many as one million species of animals and plants,

among them, this crab and shrimp which both share a home within the folds of

an anemone in the sea off Sulawesi.

“Coral reefs are the cornerstone of the economic and social fabric of the

region, yet they are the most threatened ecosystems in the world,” said

Lauretta Burke, a co-author of Reefs at Risk: Southeast Asia.

“Although our report indicates that the picture is pretty grim, it will

provide resource managers and government officials with the kind of

information they need to effectively manage their coral reefs.”

The report was a collaboration between 35 scientists from across the region,

and the United States, Australia and Britain, who compiled a vast database

on the region’s coral reefs using sophisticated computer software and a new

index of threats.

South-East Asia is considered the global epicentre of marine diversity. Its

nearly 100,000sq km of coral reefs, or 34% of the world’s total, house over

600 of the 800 reef-building coral species in the world. It is not unusual

to find a greater variety of species around a single island in this region

than can be found on all the coral reefs in the Caribbean.

The report found that over 90% of coral reefs in Cambodia, Singapore,

Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, China, and the Spratly Islands face

destruction. Over 85% of the reefs of Malaysia and Indonesia are threatened.

The authors based their conclusions on indicators that take into account

such threats as coastal development, overfishing, destructive fishing,

marine pollution, sedimentation and pollution from inland activities.

They conclude that overfishing is the most pervasive threat to the region.

About 64% of the reefs are threatened by overfishing, with Cambodia, Japan

and the Philippines exceeding 70%.

“If fishing is not reduced to more sustainable levels, both coral reefs and

food security will be further imperiled,” said Mark Spalding, a co-author of

the report.

 

Coral reefs fringe about one-sixth of the world`s coast-lines and rivals

only the tropical rainforest in terms of species diversity.

Destructive fishing practices, like the use of poison and dynamite, threaten

an estimated 56% of the reefs. The threat is particularly high in the

Spratly and Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, and in Vietnam. Over

two-thirds of the reefs in the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan, as well as

over 50% of those in Indonesia face destruction caused by these

indiscriminate fishing methods. In addition, sedimentation and pollution

resulting from coastal development and changes in land use harm 37% of the

reefs.

Threats to Malaysian reefs differ according to location, says the report.

In the peninsula, reefs are most affected by development. Shipping along the

Straits of Malacca has subjected reefs there to oil spills and anchor damage

while agriculture and development have increased sediment and nutrient

runoff. As a result, some reefs off the West Coast are now damaged by

seasonal macroalgae blooms.

Reefs off the coasts of Sabah and Sarawak, on the other hand, are threatened

more by blast and cyanide fishing, particularly around Semporna in Sabah,

and Labuan.

In Sarawak, river sedimentation has taken a toll on reefs. Reefs near Miri

have only 20% to 30% live coral cover and are smothered by algal growth.

The report recommends the following:

1) Expand marine reserves. Currently, only 8% of the region’s reefs are in

marine protected areas.

2) Reduce overfishing through improved management and the development of

alternative livelihoods for fishers. Decreased fishing effort would result

in higher catches and incomes for those who still choose to fish.

3) Regulate the international trade in live reef organisms. The total value

of the trade in live reef fish exceeds US$1bil (RM3.8bil) a year, with

South-East Asia supplying up to 85% of the fish in the aquarium trade and

nearly all of the live reef food fish.

4) Improve the management of existing marine protected areas, which will

require political and financial commitments from governments, private

organisations, and the tourism industry.

 

Effective management is crucial to maintaining coastal resources, but it is

inadequate across much of South-East Asia. There are 646 protected marine

areas in the region, but of the 332 whose management status could be

determined, only 14% were rated as effectively managed.

The report finds that although management requires additional investments,

the cost of inaction is even higher. Over a 20-year period, current levels

of blast fishing, overfishing, and sedimentation could cost Indonesia and

the Philippines more than US$2.6bil and US$2.5bil (RM9.88bil and RM9.5bil)

respectively.

There is reason to conserve the coral reefs as they bring in a lot of money.

The report values the region’s coral reef fisheries at US$2.4bil (RM9.12bil)

annually. If ecosystem services like tourism and shoreline protection are

included, the figure is greater. The coral reefs in the Malacca Straits

alone have a total assessed economic value of US$563mil (RM2.14bil) for

tourism, shoreline protection, fishery resources, and research potential.

In addition to fisheries, coral reefs provide many other exceptionally

valuable services. Reefs facilitate the growth of mangroves and seagrasses,

provide sheltering habitats essential to a variety of marine species, and

help prevent shoreline erosion. Corals themselves possess a yet untold value

as biochemical material for pharmaceuticals and other products.

Reefs at Risk: Southeast Asia is published by the World Resources Institute,

the United Nations Environment Programme and World Conservation Monitoring

Centre, the Penang-based World Fish Centre (formerly called the

International Centre for Living Aquatic Resources Management), and the

International Coral Reef Action Network. For more information, go to

www.wri.org/wri/reefs at risk.

 

 

 

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