| List of GRID-NET Reports |
| | 1 |
| Burke L.; Selig E.; Spalding M. |
| Coral Reefs "At Risk in Southeast Asia" |
| | Marine geology |
| sedimentation; coral reefs; land use; coastal development; South East Asia; South East Asia |
| | Results released from the most detailed analysis of threats to Southeast Asia's coral reefs indicate that the |
| | they face are higher than previously estimated, with as much as eighty-eight per cent of the region's reef |
| | systems "severely threatened" by human activities. The main threats are overfishing, destructive fishing, |
| | and sedimentation and pollution from land-based sources. So says a report published jointly by the World |
| | Resources Institute (WRI), the United Nations Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Center |
| | (UNEP-WCMC), ICLARM -- The World Fish Center, and the International Coral Reef Action Network. |
| | Southeast Asia is home to nearly 100,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, or nearly 34 percent of the world's |
| | total, and 600 of the world's 800 reef-building coral species. According to the report, 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 estimates that the sustainable value of the region's reef fisheries is $2.4 billion |
| | annually; if "ecosystem services" like tourism and shoreline protection are included, the figure is greater. |
| | However, says the report, over 90 percent of the coral reefs in Cambodia, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, |
| | Vietnam, China, and the Spratly Islands are threatened. Over 85 percent of the reefs of Malaysia and |
| | Indonesia are threatened. Indonesia and the Philippines hold 77 percent of the region's coral reefs and nearly |
| | 80% of all the threatened reefs. The report -- a collaboration between 35 scientists from across the region, as |
| | well as from the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia -- concludes that overfishing is the most |
| | pervasive threat. About 64 percent of Shoutheast Asia's reefs are threatened by oversishing, with Cambodia, |
| | Japan, and the Philippines exceeding 70 percent. Destructive fishing practices, such as the use of poison and |
| | dynamites, threaten an estimated 56 percent of the region's reef systems. In addition, sedimentation and |
| | pollution associated with coastal development and changes in land use place 37 percent of the reefs at risk. |
| | The report recommends the following: - Expansion of the protected areas network for coral reefs. Currently, |
| | only 8 percent of the region's reefs are in marine protected areas. - Improvement of management of existing |
| | marine protected areas, "which will require political and financial commitments from government, private |
| | organizations, and the tourism industry." - Reduction of 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. - Regulation of international trade in live reef organisms. The |
| | total value of the trade in live reef fish exceeds $1 billion annually, with Southeast Asia providing up to 85 |
| | percent of the fish in the aquarium trade and nearly all the live food fish. |
| Washington D.C. (USA) World Resources Institute, , 2002; Abstract; GRIDN |
| |
| | 2 |
| Baird R.C.; Eppi R.E. |
| Building Global Capacity in Coastal Resource Management, the Emerging Sea Grant Model |
| | Marine geology |
| environment; marine environment; Coastal Resources; Sea Grant; United States; Honduras; Nicaragua; Korea |
| Maryland (USA) NOAA Research, , 2001; 7 pgs., 1 p. Bibl. Ref.; GRIDN |
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