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Search Result: 1 records
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1.
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Burke, L., E. Selig and M. Spalding,
2002
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Reefs At Risk in Southeast Asia.
World Resources Institute, 72p.
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Ref ID
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12496
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Author
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Burke, L., E. Selig and M. Spalding
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Year
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2002
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Title
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Reefs At Risk in Southeast Asia.
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Source
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World Resources Institute, 72p.
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Keywords
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CORAL REEF; RISK; THREAT; human pressure; coastal development; overfishing; destructive fishing; marine pollution; land-based sources pollution; sedimentation; map; GIS; model;
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Caption
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This is the report from the Regional Reefs At Risk project, which assembled the best available information on status and threats to coral reefs for the Southeast Asian region. The report provides a detailed map-based indicator of threats to coral reefs from human activities and identifies areas where coral reef degradation might be expected to occur given current levels of human activity. This is a publication of the World Resources Institute in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC), ICLARM -The World Fish Center and the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN).
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Abstract
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People have coexisted with coral reef ecosystems in Southeast Asia for thousands of years. With more than 350 million people living within 50 km of the coast, coral reefs are important not only in local communities' cultures, but are also critical to the economic health of these nations. Coral reef fisheries, in particular, are a vital source of food and employment. Fisheries dedicated to the live food fish trade, the ornamental trade, and local subsistence economies generate billions of dollars each year. The total annual net benefit of sustainable coral reef fisheries across Southeast Asia is estimated to be US$2.4 billion per year.
In addition to fisheries, coral reefs provide many other exceptionally valuable services. Their beauty draws millions of tourists from around the world each year. Corals themselves possess a yet untold value as biochemical material for pharmaceuticals and other products. Reefs also facilitate the growth of mangroves and seagrasses, provide sheltering habitat essential to a variety of marine species, and help prevent shoreline erosion. The coral reefs in the Malacca Straits alone have a total assessed economic value of US$563 million for tourism, shoreline protection, fishery resources, and their research potential.
Despite their worth, coral reefs in Southeast Asia and throughout the world face unprecedented threat levels from human activities. The population explosion during the last 50 years is driving many of the current pressures and is creating elevated, often unsustainable demand on both the terrestrial and marine resources of the region. These pressures are jeopardizing the incredible value of coral reefs, whose loss would have significant economic impacts for the region.
The most prevalent threat to coral reefs in Southeast Asia is overexploitation. Rapid population growth has vastly increased fishing pressure on reefs across the region. Because most fishers have no other sources of income, they have no incentive to leave the industry or reduce fishing pressure. In addition, the enticing profits to be made in the live reef food fish and aquarium trades have led to both widespread species overfishing by local and foreign vessels and to the proliferation of destructive fishing techniques. Practices like blast and poison fishing not only destroy the natural resource base for future fishing, but they also are detrimental across the ecosystem. Yet, even without these destructive methods, current fishing levels and methods are unsustainable in most areas. If fishing in Southeast Asia is not reduced to more sustainable levels, both coral reefs and food security will be further imperiled.
High levels of development and land-use changes in the last 20 years have also been major threats to coral reefs in the region. Massive deforestation and the construction of roads, airports, channels, ports, and buildings, including tourist resorts, have substantially increased sediment and nutrient loads in coastal areas. Increased sediments can smother corals, and added nutrients can cause the coral to become overgrown with algae. A major challenge for the region in the coming years will be to restrict growth or manage development in ecologically sensitive areas before further degradation occurs.
One of the least understood threats to coral reefs is coral bleaching, a stress response that is often correlated to elevated sea surface temperatures and global climate change. By some measures, the 1997-98 El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was the strongest on record, triggering massive coral bleaching throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Worldwide economic losses from this event are estimated between US$700 million to US$8 billion over the next 20 years.
The cumulative threats of overexploitation, land-use changes, pollution, and coastal development, coupled with the effects of global climate change, foretell an uncertain future for Southeast Asia's coral reefs. Despite widespread recognition that coral reefs are severely threatened, information regarding particular threats to specific reef areas is limited. Only a small percentage of reefs have ever been studied, and an even smaller number have been monitored over time using consistent methods. In addition, these data are rarely consolidated in a central repository where copies would be widely accessible.
This lack of information inhibits effective decisionmaking concerning coastal resources. The Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia (RRSEA) project was designed to address this information deficiency through an extensive data compilation and improvement effort. Understanding which human activities negatively impact which reefs is key to future conservation and planning efforts. The goal of the RRSEA project is to raise awareness about threats to coral reefs and provide resource managers with specific information and tools to manage coastal habitats in Southeast Asia more effectively.
Key findings - Biological endowment
Southeast Asia contains nearly 100,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, almost 34 percent of the world total. With over 600 of the almost 800 reef-building coral species, these reefs have the highest levels of marine biodiveristy on earth. Southeast Asia is also the global center of biodiversity for coral reef fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. The region contains 51 of the world's 70 mangrove species and 23 of the 50 seagrass species.
- Economic value
The economic value associated with coral reefs in Southeast Asia is substantial. The value of the region's sustainable coral reef fisheries alone is US$2.4 billion per year. In addition, coral reefs are vital to food security, employment, tourism, pharmaceutical research, and shoreline protection. The coral reefs of Indonesia and the Philippines provide annual economic benefits estimated at US $1.6 billion and US $1.1 billion per year, respectively.
- Threats to reefs
The heavy reliance on marine resources across Southeast Asia has resulted in the overexploitation and degradation of many coral reefs, particulary those near major population centers. The main threats include overfishing, destructive fishing practices, and sedimentation and pollution from land-based sources. Human activities now threaten an estimated 88 percent of Southeast Asia's coral reefs, jeopardizing their biological and economic value to society. For 50 percent of these reefs, the level of threat is "high" or "very high." Only 12 percent of reefs are at low risk.
The Reefs at Risk project estimates that about 64 percent of the region's reefs are threatened by overfishing, and 56 percent are threatened by destructive fishing techniques. In addition, dredging, landfilling, mining of sand and coral, coastal construction, discharge of sewage and other activities associated with coastal development threaten about 25 percent of the region's coral reefs. Sediment and pollution from deforestation and agricultural activities threaten an estimated 20 percent of the region's reefs.
Over 90 percent of the coral reefs in Cambodia, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, China, and the Spratly Islands are threatened, and over 85 percent of the reefs of Malaysia and Indonesia are threatened. Indonesia and the Philippines together posses 77 percent of the region's coral reefs and nearly 80 percent of all threatened reefs in the region.
Logging, destructive fishing practices, overfishing, and other activities that are damaging to coral reefs may be lucrative to individuals in the short-term. However, the net economic losses to society from diminished coastal protection, tourism and sustainable fisheries usually outweigh the short-term benefits. Over a 20-year period, current levels of blast fishing, overfishing, and sedimentation could cost Indonesia and the Philippines more than US $2.6 billion and US$2.5 billion, respectively.
Global climate change is also a significant threat to coral reefs in Southeast Asia. Elevated sea-surface temperatures have resulted in more severe and more frequent coral bleaching. The 1997-98 El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event triggered the largest worldwide coral bleaching event ever recorded. In Southeast Asia, an estimated 18 percent of the region's coral reefs were damaged or destroyed.
- Management
Effective management is key to maintaining coastal resources, but, is inadequate across much of the region. Some 646 marine protected areas (MPAs) include an estimated 8 percent of the region's coral reefs. Of the 332 MPAs whose management effectiveness could be deteremined, only 14 percent were rated as effectively managed, 48 percent have partially effective management, and 38 percent have inadequate management.
- The lack of information
Despite widespread recognition that coral reefs are severely threatened, information about the status and nature of the threats to specific reef areas is limited. This lack of information inhibits effective decisionmaking concerning coastal resources. The Reefs at Risk project was developed to address this deficiency by creating standardized indicators that raise awareness about threats to coral reefs and highlight the linkages between human activity and coral reef condition.
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