Global warming, pollution are key threats to fragile ecosystems

Associated Press

Nusa Dua, Indonesia- More than a quarter of the world’s coral reefs have been destroyed by pollution and global warming, experts said Monday (10-23-00), warning that unless urgent measures are taken, most of the remaining reefs could be dead in 20 yrs.

In some of the worst hit areas, such as the Maldives and Seychellles islands in the Indian Ocean, up to 909% of coral reefs have been killed in the past 2 years because of rising water temperatures.

Coral reefs play a crucial role as an anchor for many marine ecosystems, and their loss would place thousands of species of fish and other organisms at risk of extinction.

Addressing 1,500 delegates from 52 countries at the ninth International Coral Reef Symposium on the island of Bali, researchers warned that governments must work urgently to reverse global warming, cut pollution and crack down on overfishing.

“You have to go and look at the coral reefs now, as we are losing them,” said Clive Wilkinson, an Austrailian scientist. Wilkenson said that fisherman in some areas use dynamite or cyanide to catch fish, blowing the reefs apart or poisoning them. In other areas, governments pump untreated sewage and other waste directly into oceans. But the most serious and immediate threat to the reefs is global warming, which causes a damaging condition known as coral bleaching, This occurs when corals are stressed by high water temperatures and lose the symbiotic algae that provide them with color and nutrition.

Oceanographers say the El Nino weather pattern two years ago, which increased water temperatures by up to 6 degress, did enormous damage to coral reefs, some of which have been alive for millions of years.

Austrailian scientists Ove Hoegh-Guldberg said 26% have already been destroyed. In another 20 yrs, water temperatures are likely to rise to the point where corals will be sitting in a “hot soup” in which they are unable to survive, he said. Wilkenson said the loss of the reefs would not only be a major blow to the environment but also would threaten the livelihood of a half billion people around the world who rely on them for food and income.

The reefs bring an estimated $400 billion a year in fishing and tourism revenues. While many Western countries have started to seriously address the problem some governments in Asia have not.

Indonesian scientist Rili Djohani said many regional governments cut their conservation budgets by as much as 80% when the Asian financial crisis hit three years ago. Indonesia’s maritime affairs minister, Sarwono Kusmaatmajda, said half the nation’s coral reefs have died and the other half could soon follow suit. “We don’t have the resources to protect them”, he said.