Coral reefs will disappear from the Coral Triangle by the end of this century unless effective action is taken on climate change, a study released yesterday said.
The Coral Triangle, considered the world’s richest marine environment, spans the coasts, reefs and seas of Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and East Timor.
The study, commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), said the destruction of the Coral Triangle would reduce the ability of coastal environments to feed people by 80 percent and result in the livelihoods of around 100 million people being lost or badly affected.
PHOTO: EPA
Such a scenario would be prevented if global action on climate change is taken and the problems of over-fishing and pollution in the region are tackled, the study presented at the World Ocean Conference in Indonesia said.
“In one world scenario, we continue along our current climate trajectory and do little to protect coastal environments from the onslaught of local threats,” Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, who led the study, was quoted as saying in a statement released by the WWF.
In this scenario, people see the biological treasures of the Coral Triangle destroyed over the course of the century by rapid increases in ocean temperature, acidity and sea level, Hoegh-Guldberg said.
“Poverty increases, food security plummets, economies suffer and coastal people migrate increasingly to urban areas,” he said.
The WWF said the Coral Triangle includes 30 percent of the world’s coral reefs, 76 percent of its reef building coral species and more than 35 percent of its coral reef fish species, as well as vital spawning grounds for other economically important fish such as tuna. It sustains the lives of more than 100 million people.
Building a strong Coral Triangle in which economic growth, food security and natural environments are maintained could prevent the worst-case scenario, the report said.
Significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions must be backed up by international investment in strengthening the region’s natural environments, it said.
More than 5,000 climatologists, ocean experts, government representatives and environmentalists from 80 nations were discussing the effects of climate change on the world’s oceans at the conference.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS