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The coral reefs of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean comprise 11% of the world's corals with high levels of reef fish biodiversity and are under high threat from human activities. This is one of the key findings of the "Reefs at Risk" world wide report, recently launched by the World Resources Institute, UNEP, the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM) and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC).
"Reefs at Risk" flags problem areas around the world where coral reef degradation might be expected to occur shortly, given on-going levels of human activity. Such degradation includes major changes in the species composition, and/or the productivity of coral reef communities, attributable to human disturbance. "Reefs at Risk" predicts potential threat to reefs associated with human activities, not actual reef condition.
"Reefs at Risk" provides the first ever detailed map-based global assessment of
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potential threats and pressures to coral reefs. As such, it marks a significant advance in understanding the condition of coral reefs and should help stimulate further data gathering that will improve subsequent reporting. This analysis covers threats to coral reefs from four broad categories: coastal development, over-exploitation and destructive fishing practices, the impact of land-based pollution and erosion, and marine pollution. According to the results of the study, each threat individually affects a third of all reefs. Over-exploitation, including destructive fishing practices and coastal development, was found to pose the greatest potential threat.
This assessment does not include likely future threats posed by population growth or climate change, nor does it consider threats resulting from coral diseases, bleaching, and other factors considered largely natural in origin.
The results are based on a series of distance relationships correlating mapped (Continued on page 2)
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