13 May 2009 - Manado,
Indonesia - If the world does not take effective
action on climate change, coral reefs will
disappear from the Coral Triangle
by the end of the century, the ability of
the region’s coastal environments to feed
people will decline by 80 per cent, and
the livelihoods of around 100 million people
will have been lost or severely impacted.
But effective global
action on climate change and regional attention
to problems of over-fishing and pollution
would prevent catastrophe, according to
a WWF-commissioned environmental, economic
and social study of possible scenarios outlined
to the World Oceans Conference here today.
The Coral Triangle and
Climate Change: Ecosystems, People and Societies
at Risk considers over 300 published scientific
studies and includes the work of over 20
experts in fields such as biology, economics
and fisheries science to present two different
possible futures this century for the world’s
richest marine environment -- the coasts,
reefs and seas of the six countries of Indonesia,
the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea,
the Solomon Islands and Timor Leste.
The Coral Triangle,
just one per cent of the earth’s surface,
includes 30 per cent of the world’s coral
reefs, 76 per cent of its reef building
coral species and more than 35 per cent
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.
“In one world scenario,
we continue along our current climate trajectory
and do little to protect coastal environments
from the onslaught of local threats,” says
Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg of the University
of Queensland, who led the study.
“In this world, 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, while the resilience
of coastal environments also deteriorates
under faltering coastal management. Poverty
increases, food security plummets, economies
suffer and coastal people migrate increasingly
to urban areas.”
“Tens of millions of
people are forced to move from rural and
coastal settings due to loss of homes, food
resources and income, putting pressure on
regional cities and surrounding developed
nations such as Australian and New Zealand.”
However the report also
shows there is an opportunity to avoid a
worst-case scenario in the region and instead
build a resilient and robust Coral Triangle
in which economic growth, food security
and natural environments are maintained
if significant reductions in greenhouse
gas emissions are backed up by international
investment in strengthening the region’s
natural environments.
“This leads to climate
change in the Coral Triangle which is challenging
but manageable and which responds well to
regional action to reduce local environmental
stresses from overfishing, pollution, and
declining coastal water quality and health,”
Professor Hoegh-Guldberg said.
Even under the best
case scenario however, communities will
face loss of coral, sea level rises, increased
storm activity, severe droughts and reduced
food availability from coastal fisheries.
A key difference, however, is that communities
remain reasonably intact and more resilient
in the face of these hardships.
“Effective management
of coastal resources through a range of
options including locally-managed regional
networks of marine protected areas, protection
of mangrove and seagrass beds and effective
management of fisheries results in a slower
decline in these resources,” the summary
report said.
“The relationship between
people and the sea in the Coral Triangle
has come under extreme threat from rapid
climate change and escalating local and
regional environmental pressures,” said
WWF International Director General James
Leape.
“These pressures are
increasing at such an alarming rate that
urgent regional and international action
must now be taken to avoid an ecological
and human catastrophe.
“World leaders must
support Coral Triangle countries in their
efforts to protect their most vulnerable
communities from rising sea levels and loss
of food and livelihoods by helping them
to strengthen management of their marine
resources and by forging a strong agreement
on greenhouse gas reductions at the UN Climate
Conference at Copenhagen in December this
year.”
+ More
Leaders vow to protect
Coral Triangle and its people
15 May 2009 - Manado,
Indonesia – Leaders of six Coral Triangle
countries promised to take action to safeguard
the world’s richest marine resource and
some 100 million people depending on it.
The announcement followed
a recent WWF report which found that without
action on climate change, coral reefs will
disappear from the Coral Triangle by the
end of the century, the ability of the region’s
coastal environments to feed people will
decline by 80 per cent, and the livelihoods
of around 120 million people will have been
lost or severely impacted.
In a joint declaration,
the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Indonesia,
Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines,
Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste formally
adopted one of the most comprehensive and
specific plans for ocean conservation.
(C) Jikkie Jonkman /
WWF-CANON - Wakatobi fishermen that go far
out at sea, stay at night in a huma (bahasa
name) for a rest and to dry their fish.
Wakatobi Marine National Park (Gift to the
Earth, part of 1,3 million hectares of Protected
Areas set aside by Indonesia). Southeast
Sulawesi, Indonesia
The declaration is an important signal for
other leaders ahead of the Climate Conference
in Copenhagen in December this year, when
world leaders will gather to agree on a
treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
“WWF urges world leaders
meeting in Copenhagen to support Coral Triangle
countries in their efforts to protect their
most vulnerable communities from the impacts
of climate change and the loss of food and
livelihoods”, said WWF Director General
James Leape.
“Reaching a strong agreement
on greenhouse gas reductions is critical
as is robust support for regional adaptation.
The transformational CTI Plan of Action
provides a framework for engaging the private
sector in adaptation through public private
partnership", Mr. Leape added.
Covering only 2% of
the world’s ocean, the Coral Triangle contains
76% of all known coral species. It is also
brimming with an extraordinary variety of
fish due to this high coral diversity.
Over 120 million people
directly depend on the bounty of these seas
for their food and income. The value of
fisheries, tourism and shoreline protection
from coral reefs, mangroves and associated
habitats is estimated at US$2.3 billion
annually.
This area also supports
the largest tuna fisheries in the world,
which generate billions of dollars in global
income every year. Healthy reef systems
help buffer coastal communities from severe
storms and tsunamis.
In the declaration,
all six leaders also recognized the urgency
of a strong climate change focus to this
important Initiative.
The 10-year Regional
CTI Plan of Action sets time-bound steps
to address growing threats to the region’s
coral reefs, fisheries, mangroves, threatened
species and other marine and coastal living
resources.
It also recognizes the
urgent need to address the poverty afflicting
the people of the Coral Triangle countries,
in particular the coastal communities, and
to meet relevant internationally agreed
development goals, including the achievement
of the Millennium Development Goals.
Protection of reefs
and mangroves in the Coral Triangle will
be vital to help people adapt to increasing
storm severity, an effect of climate change.
These precious marine
resources are threatened by overfishing,
illegal fishing, unsustainable coastal development,
pollution and climate change.
All these threats are
leading to depleted fish stocks, large-scale
loss of mangroves and degradation of coral
reef systems.
“In 30 years of conservation
work, I have never seen anything like this;
six leaders signing a commitment to protect
their marine resources for the well-being
of their citizens and future generations,”
Conservation International’s Chairman and
CEO, Peter Seligmann said.
“We extend our deepest
congratulations and commit to supporting
these nations as they embark on this unprecedented
global initiative to secure human livelihoods
and adapt to climate change through the
conservation of their individual and shared
marine heritage.”
TNC’s Chairman of the
Board of Directors, Roger Milliken Jr.,
said “we are inspired by the bold vision
of the CTI and the significant commitments
that the six leaders made today. Our continued
engagement, building on nearly two decades
of conservation in this region, with governments,
regional institutions and local communities
we hope will contribute to this extraordinary
initiative for the benefit of nature and
people living in this region and beyond.
”
