Southeast Asian coral reefs

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Southeast Asian coral reefs have the highest levels of biodiversity for the world's marine ecosystems. They serve many functions, such as forming the core of livelihood for subsistence fishermen and even function as jewelry and construction materials. However, those sensitive coral reefs are facing detrimental effects on them due to variety of factors: overfishing, sedimentation and pollution, bleaching, and even tourist-related damage.(Burns)

Contents 1 The depletion of coral reefs in southeast Asia 2 Indonesian coral reefs 3 State of coral reefs 4 Coral bleaching 5 Social implications due to the depletion of coral reefs 6 Marine protected areas 7 Contributions for coral reef management 8 See also 9 External sources

[edit] The depletion of coral reefs in southeast Asia

Off the coasts of Indonesia and the Philippines is where the world’s most diverse coral species and organisms exist. Disappointingly however, these coral reefs are susceptible to severe damage everyday by environmental impacts and mankind. The majority of the destruction of coral reefs in Southeast Asia is due to illegal fishing practices and explosives. These explosives kill fish and shatter the coral skeletons resulting in depletion. Scientists agree that pollution, overfishing, cyanide fishing, and bleaching have negatively impacted about 85% of Indonesia’s reefs.

Blast fishing, or dynamite fishing is also a major contributor to the destruction of coral reefs. Even though blast fishing was banned in 1985, it still remains to be a huge threat for the Indonesia coral reefs. By filling up an empty bottle with fertiliser and kerosene a fisherman can then light this bottle and throw it into the ocean gaining immediate access to hundreds of dead fish (Lu). This method of fishing leaves coral reefs virtually unsalvagable, yet has become more and more popular as the demand for fish increases while the supply steadily decreases. The dynamite used to catch dead fish destroys coral reefs from the inside leaving them no room for regrowth. This effect in turn hurts Filipino fisherman because it leaves no place for fish to reproduce and thus decreases the fish population. Blast fishing became popular among Filipino fisherman 15 years ago, but did not gain global attention until the 1990's (Martin). Laws that were placed in effect to prevent blast fishing are poorly enforced by officials of this area, and fisherman are highly motivated to continue this practice for survival. "These are not poor Third World guys trying to put food on the table, go to the villages and find the people who head the dynamite fishing cooperatives are the people with new Jeeps and new satellite dishes in their houses. This is about greed," (Martin). Indonesia and the Philippines contain about 77% of the regions coral reef systems, and with 98% of the Philippine coral reefs seriously threatened by human activities, it is obvious that there needs to be serious changes to the marine practices of the communities (Martin).

Cyanide fishing originated in the Philippines in the 1960's due to the growing market for aquarium fish in North America and Europe (Cyanide Fishing). This method of fishing is done by squirting cyanide, a poison, directly into crevices of the coral reefs. Cyanide quickly stuns the fish, making the fishermen's job much easier when catching their targeted prey. This poison is incredibly harmful to the surrounding corals and all of the reef's inhabitants. Since the 1960's when this practice began, over one million kilograms of cyanide poison has been released and used to catch fish amongst the Philippine coral reefs. However, less than one half of the live fish caught by this method survive to be sold to restaurants and aquariums (International Coral Reef Information Network).

Furthermore, the Philippine waters are considered as having nearly 70% of its coral reefs destroyed with only 5% in good condition. Although this dynamite and cyanide fishing may be targeted at one specific location, it destroys the surrounding habitat as well, spreading over one kilometer upon each impact. It takes over one hundred years for these reefs to grow into substantial sizes, at a rate of one inch every five years. These poor fishing practices not only threaten the food habitats for many species, but also the biodiversity that makes these Philippine and Indonesian coasts so beautiful. Inland human activities is what mainly pressures these reefs' pristine states; from indirect activities such as the increasing demand within the fishing industry as well as directly, through coastal run-off and pollution.

[edit] Indonesian coral reefs

Indonesia has 2,915,000 kilometers squared of marine area. The reef area is 51,020 kilometers squared. Of that amount, 82% of it is at risk. Indonesia holds 17% of the worlds total coral reef areas. Blast fishing, which has been illegal since 1985 still goes on today, along with cyanide fishing (1995), and murbami fishing. Another factor that is hurting the coral reefs in Indonesia is the amount of coral that they export. They are the worlds largest exporter of corals. They export about 500 tons of coral per year.[1] COREMAP is helping Indonesia with their destruction of corals by working in 9 of the 32 provinces. They want to: 1. Heighten law enforcement to protect coral reefs; 2. Establish coral reef monitoring and information systems, in order to conduct research on the status of coral reefs and more effectively disseminate that information to stakeholder groups; 3. Develop community-based management systems and increase public participation in coral reef resource management; 4. Increase institutional capacity and strengthen inter-institutional coordination in planning and implementing policy that affects coral reef management, and; 5. Enhance public knowledge of the importance of coral reef and motivate people to actively participate in the management and sustainable use of coral reefs. [2]

[edit] State of coral reefs

For the past 50 years, the proportion of degraded reefs in Indonesia increased from 10 to 50%. From 1989 to 2000 reefs with over 50% live coral cover declined from 36 to 29%. Western Indonesia, which is more developed and holds the majority of the nation's population, faces the greatest threats to its coral reefs. Surveys concluded that reef condition improves from west to east. The percentage of reefs in good or excellent condition (live coral cover of 50% or more) is 23% in western Indonesia versus 45% in eastern Indonesia. 65% of surveys taken from the Maluku islands had evidence of bomb damage. In addition, reefs affected by land-based pollution (i.e. sediment discharge into reefs by deforestation, industry, sewage, and fertilizer) show 30-50% less diversity at depths of three meters and 40-60% less diversity at 10 meters in comparison to pristine reefs. The 1997-1998 el Nino event triggered widespread bleaching in Indonesia, with western and west-central Indonesia most affected. Bleaching was recorded in East Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Lombok. In the Seribu Islands northwest of Jakarkta, 90-95% of coral reef from the reef flat down to 25 meters died. Two years later, the Seribu Islands significantly recovered, with live coral cover of 20-30% (2000). [3]

30% of the Philippine's coral reefs are dead while 39% are dying. The news isn't all bad: Establishment of the Sumilon Island marine reserve has resulted in a marked comeback of fish in adjacent areas. Along with the establishment of the Sumilon Island marine reserve, there is hope for the Philippines via boosts in ecotourism. In recent years, local Filipino governments have discovered that fishing is not the only economic benefit the reefs can provide. They are confident that with a spread of ecotourism, even local fishermen will reap the financial benefits of this economic sector. A surge in coral reef conservation education is helping the tourism sector provide information to tourists on how to preserve the coral reefs while they enjoy the beauty and serenity of the reefs. (The Utrecht Faculty of Education) The Philippines ecotourism sector is unfortunately stifled at this time due to a limited budget and there are approximately 7, 000 islands to patrol for destructive fishing techniques. (Martin, 2002)[4]. Destructive fishing techniques are thought to be the largest contributor to reef degradation in the Philippines. The first ever mass-bleaching event in the Philippines was reported in 1998-99. It began at Batangas, off Luzon, in June 1998 and then proceeded nearly clockwise around the Philippines, correlating with anomalous sea-surface temperatures. Most reefs of northern Luzon, west Palawan, the Visayas, and parts of Mindanao were affected. Subsequent mortalities were highly variable, with decreases in live coral cover ranging from 0.7 to 46 percent and up to 80 percent in Bolinao. Recent surveys in 1997 found a low percentage of reefs to be in excellent condition. They found only 4 percent of Philippine reefs in excellent condition (i.e., over 75 percent hard or soft coral cover), 28 percent in good condition (50-75 percent coral cover), 42 percent in fair condition (25-50 percent coral cover), and 27 percent in poor condition (less than 25 percent coral cover). The Visayas have experienced the most significant decline in coral cover, exhibiting an average of only 11 percent hard coral cover. [5]

A study in the early 90's revealed that coral reefs are damaged by a variety of human activities such as household sewage, industrial waste, and agricultural chemicals from land that are washed to the sea. [6] This was a new finding for the time period in which it was widely believed that the main damage to coral reefs was causes by oil spills or from pollution dumped by ships. This survey was concentrated on SE Asia mainly because it was believed that coral reefs in this region were at great threat of extinction if continued to be unmanaged. As a result of these findings, groups such as Coral Cay Conservation (CCC) were established to preserve coral reefs not only in SE Asia but also worldwide. [7] The CCC has been responsible for establishing marine protected areas both in the Philippines and Indonesia. Moreover, the CCC has been instrumental about raising awareness amongst the locals in Indonesia, showing the natives how valuable and important coral reefs are in counteracting the greenhouse gas effect.

Today, the coral reefs located in the Philippines and Indonesia are in great danger. What is the direct threat? Fishermen are constantly practicing dangerous methods such as blast fishing and dynamite fishing. These practices prove to be detrimental to the coral reefs as well as the marine life in the surrounding areas. Because of the dangerous methods, fish that are usually near the coral reefs are no longer there any more. Two of these fish are Groupers and snappers. According to Earth Watch it was only seven years ago that 30% of the reefs were dead in this region and many more were dying.

[edit] Coral bleaching

Bleaching is one significant threat to the corals. Bleaching is a term that refers to a process that expels the photosynthetic algae from the corals' "stomachs" or polyps (Blackman). This algae is called zooxanthellae. It is vital to the reef's life because it provides the coral with nutrients; it is also responsible for the color (Hughes).The process is called bleaching because when the algae is ejected from the coral reef the animal loses its pigment. Zooxanthellae densities are continually changing; bleaching is really an extreme of what naturally happens (Reefkeeping). The detrimental exaggeration of the natural occurrence can be explained by the increasing temperature of the oceans which is accused to be a result of the "Greenhouse Effect," or global warming (Blackman and Hughes). Biological oceanographer Paul Falkowski and marine biologist Andrew Baker from the Wildlife Conservation Society study bleaching and why it occurs. Their explanations can be put in their simplest terms as such: the algae's membrane melts from the rise in temperature and, as a result, spits out an "oxygen species" directly into the reef. The animal, in turn, views this process as a threat and ejects the algae as a defense mechanism (Blackman). Once the zooxanthellae are expelled the coral have nothing to feed off and die. Bleaching has been shown to cause up to 90% mortality rate of the affected corals (Bruno et al. 2001). However, there is a catch. The reefs that are victims of bleaching have been found to be affected in patches, suggesting that there are several factors that affect the bleaching threshold. Not only that, but both bleached and non-bleached corals are often found right next to each other (Hughes). These cases are numerous, and the variation and impact of factors (such as species or light) are still being heavily questioned, researched, and are vaguely understood (Hughes).

[edit] Social implications due to the depletion of coral reefs

Most Southeastern Asian coastal communities are socially and economically dependent upon coral reef ecosystems (Cesar 2003). 350 million people live within 50k of the coast and the majority of that population depend in one way or another upon the coral reefs (Burke 2002). Because so many people are dependent on such a precious ecosystem, environmental impacts are not all they are facing. Along with the degradation and depletion of the physical coral and its inhabitants, the Southeastern Asian residents are facing major social and economic implications (Cesar 2003). Socially, the coral depletion could have a devastating effect on the population and the culture that is dependant upon the reefs of Southeast Asia.

The marine waters of the Philippines is five times more in area than the land it covers (Tongson 2005). Out of the 86 million people that reside in the Philippines, about 40% live on less than a dollar a day (PBS 2005). Most people fish for personal consumption and survival. Fish consumption is estimated at around 30 kg per capita in the Philippines (Martin 2002). Because fish are becoming more and more scarce as their reef habitat is gradually destroyed by cyonide and blast fishing, siltation, and bleaching, fishermen must continue to use the cheapest and most reliable methods to bring in their daily catch.

The coral reef has been an integral part of Southeast Asian communities for thousands of years. However, with the higher demands on the coral reef to produce for the increasing population and the introduction of the world market in the last fifty years, overexploitation has become the most prevalent threat. The explosion of the live reef food fish and aquarium trades as markets has been detrimental to the coral reef. Economic incentives have led to the over fishing of the coral reef and the creation of new technologies to create higher yields of harvest. The use of cyanide and blast fishing has begun to destroy one of the largest coral reef environments in the world. Furthermore, the increased populations have affected the coral reef indirectly. Besides using the reef for economic gain, the increase of people has created pollution. The high levels of development and change in the methods of using the land have led to massive deforestation, which in turn has created a substantial amount of sediments and nutrient loads being placed in coastal environments. Furthermore, attempts to industrialize at the lowest cost possible have led to increased pollution without regulation. To protect and restore the coral reefs many things must be considered. The fishermen and reef harvesters must be given a new method of generating income, one that is sustainable and economically enticing that does not negatively affect the environment. Also, there is a need to manage and regulate the development of the Southeast area and the pollution from this area, while considering the environmental impacts and the economic impacts farther down the road. Only through the an understanding of the people and the strategies for survival they engage in can one find a solution for the dilemma of the coral reefs.

Wilkinson, C.R., L.M. Chou, E. Gomez, I. Mohammed, S. Soekarno, and Sudara. 1993. "Status of Coral Reefs in Southeast Asia: Threats and Responses." In: Ginsburg, R.N. (compiler) (1994) Global Aspects of Coral Reefs: Health, Hazards, and History. University of Miami, Florida, June 10-11, 1993.

Mohammad, S.M. 1994. "The Status of Coral Reef Resource Systems and Current Research Needs in East Africa", pp. 22-25. In: J.L. Munro and P.E. Munro (eds.) The Management of Coral Reefs Resource Systems. ICLARM Conf. Proc. 44.

[edit] Marine protected areas

Amongst the many proposed solutions to the problems plaguing coral reefs in Southeast Asia is the creation of marine protected areas (MPAs). Currently marine protected areas make up around 8% of the area of Southeast Asian coral reefs (Burke et al.) The World Commission on Protected Areas [8], amongst other groups, has been active in establishing MPAs in Southeast Asia. However, the success rate of MPAs in Southeast Asia is low, with an estimated 14% of MPAs rated effectively managed (2002 Reefs at Risk). [9] This rate reflects the difficulty of implementing MPAs. Moreover, it shows that much work is still needed to make MPAs successful in Southeast Asia.

IUCN has defined an MPA as “any area of intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its overlying water and associated flora, fauna, historical and cultural features, which has been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment” (Kelleher and Philips, 1999). In other words, an MPA is a marine area in which the water column and all the life that exists in it are protected through laws. These laws restrict certain practices within the MPA, which can differ per MPA.

Marine protected areas, in sum, provide a marine sanctuary which can foster an increase in marine biodiversity (De Guzman, 2004). [10] (See also: [11]). This increased biodiversity is though to be able to carry over to the non-protected surrounding areas in which fishing can take place. This is important for a number of reasons. In the Southeast Asian context, especially amongst the islands of the Philippines and Indonesia, the sea and people are very much interconnected. As mentioned, the sea provides both a source of income and source of food for the people. In the Philippines, for example, 67% of protein food consumption comes from fish and fish products. Additionally, roughly one million people in the Philippines are employed in the fishing industry (White and Cruz-Trinidad, 1998). [12] Increased fish stocks resulting from marine protected areas only add to the solutions needed to revitalize Southeast Asian economies, life systems, and coral reefs.

In addition, the LMMA (Locally-Managed Marine Area) Network is another organization that takes part in the Southeast Asia marine conservation. Similar to the MPA, the LMMA also provides protection areas in the sea. However, according to the definition above, an LMMA is an example of an MPA because an MPA includes a large space within and close by the area. The LMMA involves members from around the world, and the communities within the managed areas. The goal of LMMA is to allow members and local communities to learn the uses of protected resources. [13]

Due to the massive destruction of coral reefs in Southeast Asia, the LMMA has established two areas in Eastern Indonesia: Padaido Islands, Biak, West Papua, and Southern Ambon Island and the Moluccas Islands; and various areas in the Philippines. With the help of the LMMAs, the local communities would learn to preserve their marine goods, and be able to maintain for longer years. Gradually, the communities will accommodate bigger and healthier fish. [14]

[edit] Contributions for coral reef management

The state of the coral reefs in the Philippines and Indonesia are depleting with every blink of an eye. It is to no one’s surprise that the Philippines have lost more than 80% since the 1920’s. In Indonesia it is a little better due to the some drastic actions made by the government. On December 6th, 2002 the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a US$33 million loan in order to save what is the rest of these important organisms. Over fishing, illegal fishing methods, and overpopulation have all contributed to the decline of the coral reefs both in the Philippines and Indonesia. Along with the loan the Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Project (Phase II), the second part of a three phase plan has given us all hope in restoring coral reefs in this part of the region. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries will oversee the whole entire project with a due date of June 30th, 2009. If it all goes according to plan the fishing industry will be the benefited the most.

To manage the coral reefs effectively to preserve what is left of the beautiful natural resource, individual people must unite. If the marine ornamentals trade is to successfully turn around and begin to sustain more live fish, certain people must perform their jobs to the fullest. Firstly, there if lobbyists are responsible about the issue, they will provide healthy animals, maintain healthy reefs, sustain reef animal populations, and adequately compensate fishing communities for their efforts. Also, responsible industry operators must minimize animal mortality and habitat impacts and focus on animal health and quality collection practices. The problem with this method, though, is that merely trust and word of mouth aren't enough. If we are to legitimately stop depleting the coral reefs in Southeast Asia, we must set international standards.

[edit] See also

• Coral reef
• Coral
• Fishery

[edit] External sources

Coral Reefs of Indonesia: facts, photos and movies from The Nature Conservancy

2002. Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia. Key Findings and Introduction from World Resources Institute. WCPA Regions- South East Asia, p8. <http://pubs.wri.org/pubs_pdf.cfm?PubID=3144&RankID=3144>

2003. The Benefits of Marine Protected Areas. Commonwealth of the Australia. A discussion paper prepared for the Vth IUCN World Parks Congress, Durban, South Africa. <http://www.deh.gov.au/coasts/mpa/wpc/benefits/>

Blackman, Stuart "Life's a Bleach" The Scientist, 2004 vol. 18 iss. 18 pg. 32

Bruno, J. F., C. E. Siddon, J. D. Witman, P. L. Colin, and M. A. Toscano. 2001. El Niño related coral bleaching in Palau, Western Caroline Islands. Coral Reefs 20: 127-136.

Burke, Lauretta, Liz Selig, and Mark Spalding. 2002. Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia. (UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge, UK)

"Cyanide Fishing: A poison tide on the reef." World Resources Institute, 1982-2005. <http://pubs.wri.org/pubs_content_text.cfm?>

De Guzman, Asuncion B. 2004. Do Marine Protected Areas Work?: A Case Study From The Philippines. EEPSEA Research Report 2004-RR6, A Fishery in Transition: Impact of a Community Marine Reserve on a Coastal Fishery in Northern Mindanao, Philippines. <http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-65166-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html>

"Experimental Assessment of Coral Reef Rehabilitation Following Blast Fishing" University of California Berkeley. Department of Integrative Biology. Conservation of Biology Volume 19. No 1, February 2005

Graeme Kelleher and Ardrian Philips ed. 1999. Guidelines for Marine Protected Areas. Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series No. 3 World Commission on Protected Areas, p11.

Hughes, T.P. "Climate Change, Human Impacts, and the Resilience of Coral Reefs" Science, 2003 vol. 301 iss. 5635 pg. 929

The Nature Conservancy Website

http://www.oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/coral/coral5.htm

International Coral Reef Information Network: "Cyanide Fishing and Coral Reefs" The Coral Reef Alliance, 2002. <http://www.coralreef.org/factSheet/cyanide.html>

Lu, Andrea. "Turmoil in the Sea: Blast Fishing Destroys Coral Reefs." The Daily Californian. March 30, 2005. <http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=18135>

The Utrecht Faculty of Education/The Philippines Hogeschool van Utrecht. Manilla Luzon http://www.philippines.hvu.nl/animals3/htm

Martin, Glen. 2002. "The depths of destruction. Dynamite fishing ravages Philippines'precious coral reefs." San Francisco Chronicle. Available at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=chronicle/archive/2002/05/30/mn232485.dtl

PBS. "Philippines Lesson: Coral Reefs" Available at: http://www.pbs.org/kcet/globaltribe/classroom/globaltribe_classroom_phil_coral.pdf#search='philippines%20and%20coral%20reefs'

http://reefsatrisk.wri.org/casestudy_text.cfm?ContentID=98

Whitting, Kenneth L. "Pollution Ruining SE Asian Coasts." Seattle Times 14 Sept. 1995, sec. A: 15-15. ProQuest. 20 May 2005

McWilliam, Fiona. "Turning the Tide." Geographical Magazine Volume 69. No 3, March 1997.

Burke, L., Selig, E. and M. Spalding. 2002. Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia. World Resources Institute. http://marine.wri.org/pubs_description.cfm?PubID=3144

Cesar, H., Burke, L. and L. Pet-Soede. 2003. The Economics of Worldwide Coral Reef Degradation. International Coral Reef Action Network http://www.icran.org/

Burns, Cassie. "Anthropogenic Effects on Coral Reefs" June 11 2003 <http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/fieldcourses03/PapersMarineEcologyArticles/AnthropogenicEffectsonCor.html>

“Coral Reefs and Fisheries Are Becoming a New Front In the Fight Against Poverty”. (June 4, 2004). <http://www.worldbank.org/>

Tongson, Edgardo. Haribon Foundation; for the Conservation of Natural Resources. Available at: http://www.aenet.org/treks/haribon.htm#research.

White, Alan T. and Annabelle Cruz-Trinidad. 1998. Values of Philippine coastal resources: why protection and management are critical. Coastal Resource Management Project 1998 PN-ACJ-113, p45. <http://www.dec.org/pdf_docs/PNACJ113.pdf>

“Rehabilitating Indonesia's Coral Reefs, Which Are Threatened By Illegal Fishing and Mining” (http://www.adb.org/Documents/News/2002/nr2002242.asp)

http://www.coral.noaa.gov/sor/sor_asia.html

http://www.nwf.org/productions/coralreef/state.html . MacGillivray Freeman’s Coral Reef Adventure: A Giant Screen Film. National Wildlife Federation. 1996.

Martin, Glenn. The Depths of destruction Dynamite Fishing Ravages Philippines' Precious Coral Reefs. http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/05/30/MN232485.DTL. San Francisco Chronicle. Thursday, May 30, 2002