Coral reefs are set to disappear from the world’s most diverse marine ecosystem by the end of the century, if global leaders do not take effective action to tackle climate change, according to a new report commissioned by WWF.
The report, launched today at the World’s Oceans Conference in Indonesia, shows that climate change will seriously threaten the delicate ecosystem of the Coral Triangle, affecting the coasts, reefs and seas of Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor Leste.
The region, which covers 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 providing vital spawning grounds for other economically important fish such as tuna.
Around 100 million people rely on the area for their livelihoods. However, it is predicted that due to climate change and overfishing, the capacity of the region’s coastal environments to feed people will decline by 80 per cent.
Emily Lewis-Brown, Marine Climate Change Officer at WWF-UK says: “The effects of climate change on the oceans are global and only strong and urgent action to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions can hope to mitigate this threat.”
“WWF calls on world leaders to agree a strong and fair Global Climate Deal at the UN Climate Conference at Copenhagen in December to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. This deal also needs to provide the necessary support and funding to enable the countries of the Coral Triangle to strengthen the management of their natural resources and protect the lives and livelihoods of their people.”
The Coral Triangle and Climate Change: Ecosystems, People and Societies at Risk, which assessed more than 300 published scientific studies, presents two possible scenarios for the future of the world’s richest marine environment.
Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg of the University of Queensland, who led the study, explains:
“In one world scenario, we continue along our current climate trajectory and do little to protect coastal environments from the onslaught of local threats. 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.”
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 major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are backed up by international investment in strengthening the region’s natural environments.
Even in the best case scenario, communities are likely to 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, with strong mitigation and adaptation policies in place communities should remain reasonably intact and more resilient in the face of these hardships.
Effective management of coastal resources is needed and solutions include locally-managed regional networks of marine protected areas, protection of mangroves and seagrass beds and management of local fisheries.
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Editor’s notes
The way we live in the UK is leading to environmental threats such as climate change, species extinction, deforestation, water shortages and the collapse of fisheries. WWF’s One Planet Future Campaign is working to help people live a good quality of life within the earth’s capacity. For more information visit www.wwf.org.uk/oneplanet
