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Coral Triangle reefs gone by 2100, study says

A student of the University of the Philippines Diliman dives to inspect the reefs off the Batangas fish sanctuary, south of Manila, on May 1. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will fly to Manado, Indonesia, today to attend the leaders’ summit of the Coral Triangle group of countries in the Asia-Pacific region that have committed to undertake programs to preserve their marine resources. PHOTO: EPA

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.

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.
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