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.
When Shanghai-based designer Guo Qingshan posted a vacation photo on Valentine’s Day and captioned it “Puppy Mountain,” it became a sensation in China and even created a tourist destination. Guo had gone on a hike while visiting his hometown of Yichang in central China’s Hubei Province late last month. When reviewing the photographs, he saw something he had not noticed before: A mountain shaped like a dog’s head rested on the ground next to the Yangtze River, its snout perched at the water’s edge. “It was so magical and cute. I was so excited and happy when I discovered it,” Guo said.
Chinese authorities said they began live-fire exercises in the Gulf of Tonkin on Monday, only days after Vietnam announced a new line marking what it considers its territory in the body of water between the nations. The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration said the exercises would be focused on the Beibu Gulf area, closer to the Chinese side of the Gulf of Tonkin, and would run until tomorrow evening. It gave no further details, but the drills follow an announcement last week by Vietnam establishing a baseline used to calculate the width of its territorial waters in the Gulf of Tonkin. State-run Vietnam News
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