Twenty Years to Save Coral Reefs

By Aprille Muscara Reprint | | Print |

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 2011 (IPS) - In less than two decades, all of the world’s coral reefs will be threatened if global climate change and local pressures like overfishing and pollution remain unaddressed, disproportionately impacting the livelihoods of some of the world’s most impoverished people, a report warned Wednesday.

According to the report, most of the inhabited areas in close proximity to coral reefs are located in developing countries, while many communities that depend on these reefs for food and work are in poverty.

“The people at greatest risk are those who depend heavily on threatened reefs, and who have limited capacity to adapt to the loss of the valuable resources and service reefs provide,” said co-author Allison Perry, project scientist at the World Fish Centre, in a statement Wednesday.

According to WRI, over 275 million people live within 30 kilometres of reefs, which protect 150,000 kilometres of shoreline in more than 100 countries and territories. In 23 of these, reef-associated tourism accounts for over 15 percent of the nation’s GDP. And 19 of the 27 nations most vulnerable to reef degradation and its consequences are Least Developed Countries. (See sidebar for the nine most vulnerable nations.)

“From the fisherman in Indonesia or Tanzania who relies on local fish to feed his family, to the scientist in Panama who investigates the medicinal potential of reef-compounds, reefs provide jobs, livelihoods, food, shelter and protection for coastal communities and the shorelines along which they live,” wrote former United States Vice President and prominent environmentalist Al Gore in the report’s foreword.

Currently, 75 percent of the world’s coral reefs are at risk – a category that includes those that appear to be in good health but could soon be spoiled, those that are already degraded and those that are already “lost”, Mark Spalding, president of the Ocean Foundation and co-author of the report, explained in an interview with the Nature Conservancy on Wednesday.

Local threats – such as unsustainable fishing, irresponsible coastal development and watershed- and marine-based pollution – currently threaten 60 percent of coral reefs. Meanwhile, warmer seas and carbon dioxide pollution from global greenhouse gas emissions lead to weakened reefs due to coral bleaching and stunted growth due to increased ocean acidity, the report states.

By 2030, if these unbridled pressures continue, over 90 percent of the world’s reefs will be at risk, it predicts; by 2050, all of these ecosystems will be threatened. As a result, their development and the diversity of species residing in them will be severely hampered, negatively affecting the peoples and economies that depend on them.

Noting significant variability across regions – depending on, say, remoteness to large population centres or intensity of overall tourism – some estimates value reef-associated tourism worldwide at 1.2 billion to 25.0 billion dollars annually.

Southeast Asia, which the WRI says “is home to the most extensive and diverse coral reefs in the world”, is the region whose reefs are most at risk, with a coastal population higher than that of every other region combined. Australia, with the greatest abundance of reefs – most of which are within designated protected areas – is the region least threatened. (See sidebar for regional comparison of risk.)

The report advocates for a multi-faceted approach to address the risks to reefs. These include mitigating threats at the local level – like reducing unsustainable fishing and pollution and checking irresponsible coastal development – and at the global level – such as through expanding designated areas of protection and reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

But it also argues for the need to reduce coastal populations’ reliance on coral reefs – potentially through social and economic development – at least partially in order to help protect their livelihoods from the negative consequences of reef degradation.

“For highly vulnerable nations – including many island nations – there is a pressing need for development efforts to reduce dependence on reefs and build adaptive capacity, in addition to protecting reefs from threats,” Perry said.

“Recognising the needs of reef-dependent communities within [national development] efforts may bring opportunities for reducing their vulnerability to future reef loss, as well as identifying the role that sustainable use of reef resources can play in poverty reduction and economic development,” the report states.

“Activities such as agriculture, aquaculture, tourism, or trade may represent viable [alternative livelihoods], but will only be sustainable where their development takes into account local aspirations, needs, perceptions and cultural ties to coral reefs,” the report argues. “For millions of reef-dependent people, it is critical that such efforts succeed.”