Southeast Asian coral reefs have the highest levels of biodiversity for the world's marine ecosystems. They serve many functions, such as forming the livelihood for subsistence fishermen and even function as jewelry and construction materials. Corals inhabit coastal waters off of every continent except Antarctica, with an abundance of reefs residing along Southeast Asian coastline in several countries including Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Coral reefs are developed by the carbonate-based skeletons of a variety of animals and algae. Slowly and over time, the reefs build up to the surface in oceans. Coral reefs are found in shallow, warm salt water. The sunlight filters through clear water and allows microscopic organisms to live and reproduce. Coral reefs are actually composed of tiny, fragile animals known as coral polyps. Coral reefs are significantly important because of the biodiversity. Although the number of fish are decreasing, the remaining coral reefs contain more unique sea creatures. The variety of species living on a coral reef is greater than anywhere else in the world. An estimation of 70-90% of fish caught are dependent on coral reefs in Southeast Asia and reefs support over 25% of all known marine species.
However, despite their importance, Southeast Asian coral reefs are under severe threat from various factors, including overfishing, sedimentation, pollution, bleaching, ocean acidification, and human impacts. Bleaching events, triggered by rising sea temperatures, cause corals to expel the algae living in their tissues, leading to their whitening and eventual death. Ocean acidification, resulting from increased carbon dioxide absorption, poses another threat, weakening coral skeletons and hindering their growth. Human activities, such as coastal development and tourism, further exacerbate the degradation of coral reefs, disrupting fragile ecosystems and causing irreparable damage. Therefore, urgent conservation efforts are necessary to safeguard the future of Southeast Asian coral reefs and the countless marine species that depend on them.
Indonesia
Indonesia has 2,915,000 square kilometers of marine area. The reef area is 51,020 square kilometers. Of that amount, 82% of it is at risk. Indonesia holds 17% of the world's total coral reef areas. Blast fishing, which has been illegal since 1985 still goes on today, along with cyanide fishing (1995). Another factor that is hurting the coral reefs in Indonesia is the amount of coral that they export. They are the world's largest exporter of corals, exporting about 500 tons of coral per year.
COREMAP is helping Indonesia with their combat against destruction of corals by working in 9 of the 32 provinces. They want to: Heighten law enforcement to protect coral reefs; 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; Develop community-based management systems and increase public participation in coral reef resource management; Increase institutional capacity and strengthen inter-institutional coordination in planning and implementing policy that affects coral reef management, and; Enhance public knowledge of the importance of coral reef and motivate people to actively participate in the management and sustainable use of coral reefs.
Philippines The Philippines, with more than 7,000 islands and warm ocean waters, surround about 26,000 square kilometers of coral reef. These coral reefs have recently brought the attention of beneficial economic uses to the Philippines government.
Benefits of Coral Reefs in Philippines Coral reefs break the waves from the chance of eroding the coastline of the islands; Protection of Communities: "the reefs act as buffer zones" meaning they decrease the power of typhoons and hurricanes as they approach the Philippine Islands; Economic Benefits: Fishing off the coral reefs, profits from tourism, for example, Diving tours and snorkeling areas on the shallow reefs. These economic benefits create many new jobs and profitable opportunities to the country.
Thailand Thailand's coastline and 300 small islands are home to 153 square kilometers of coral. Large bleaching events in 1998 and 2010 resulted in the massive loss of corals in the Gulf of Thailand, but some corals showed resilience to the events and displayed a lower mortality. Bleaching events such as these are just one of many threats that face corals in Thailand. Expansion of coastal tourism in Thailand has resulted in both a rise of coral damage and increased economic incentive to preserve and rebuild coral reefs. Tourist activities, such as diving, have become so popular in locations like the Similan Islands and Phi Phi Islands that they threaten to overwhelm and destroy protected marine areas unless new measures are taken to limit visitors and revitalize coral conservation efforts.
Recognition of both the economic and ecological value of Thailand's coral reefs and their rapid degradation due to tourism has led to consideration of new ways to protect reefs. For instance, Thailand has attempted to limit the number of tourists that can visit certain islands in a year or has implemented fees that would go towards counteracting the environmental damage on corals caused by tourism. Efforts in Thailand to rebuild reefs is part of a larger economic movement that attempts to preserve natural beauty in order to continue a lucrative tourism industry, a significant source of revenue for Thai islands. Coral restoration efforts, like the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program on the Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand, often incorporate the local community creating positive social change as well as ecological change. While these efforts seek to address some local concerns, technical limitations are a barrier that prevent further coral restoration, and the continuation of worldwide trends like ocean warming and acidification will have further negative impacts on Thailand's coral reefs.
State
For the past 55 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 Jakarta, 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). Coral reefs in Indonesia are located near Java (Batavia), Nusa Dua, Jakarta and Saribu.
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 Philippine Hogeschool van Utrecht. Manila Luzon 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, 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 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.
A study in the early 1990s 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. This was a new finding for the time period in which it was widely believed that the main damage to coral reefs was caused 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. In the last thirty years climate change has had the most harmful effect on corals. (Hughes) Currently one of the major issues the Indonesian government is dealing with is climate change. (CIA Worldfactbook) When the ocean warms such as in El Nino, coral bleaching occurs, which kills the coral. (Hughes) The reefs are incredibly important to the economy and people of Southeast Asia. The reefs bring in $1.6 billion a year through fishing, employment, and the tourist industry. (Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia Key Findings 2002) Today, the coral reefs located in the Philippines and Indonesia are in great danger. Fishermen are constantly practising 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 David Nockels it was only seven years ago that 30% of the reefs were dead in this region and many more were dying.
Climate change