#Status of Coral Reefs 2002 - International Coral Reef Action Network

Status of Coral Reefs in South Asia
HOW THE POOR VALUE THEIR REEFS
There has been considerable work on the economic valuation of reefs to assist in
forming policies related to both conservation and sustainable use of reef ecosystems.
As part of efforts to support the livelihoods of the poor in coastal areas, the UK
Department for International Development (DFID) wanted to know how the poor
value reefs themselves. DFID commissioned Integrated Marine Management Ltd of the
UK to work with reef-dependent communities in the Gulf of Mannar, the Andaman
Islands and Lakshadweep Islands in India, and in Mozambique to collate examples of
how different communities benefit from reefs and how they assess those benefit flows
within their wider livelihoods. The benefits include not only the more obvious
concerns, such as access to fish for food and sale, or the protection provided by reefs,
but also spiritual benefits, a basis for learning, increased opportunities for women to
engage in fishing, a focus for social collaboration, and increased access to a diversity of
market opportunities provided by the wide range of species available. The project
with the coastal poor will end in November 2002; progress can be followed at:
www.ex.ac.uk/imm/rla.htm
numbers of tourists over the last 30 years, helping the sector to provide 33.1% of the GDP.
The benefits to the other countries of South Asia from the coral reefs are the contribution
to food and livelihoods of the nearby coastal communities.
A major climate related warming event in the first half of 1998 destroyed large areas of
corals of the Maldives, Chagos and Lakshadweep atolls, reefs around Sri Lanka, and in
India in the Gulf of Mannar. There were reports of mortality of 90% or more of corals
following mass bleaching on reefs to 20m depth and beyond to 40m in the Maldives and
Chagos. The dominant branching and table corals were the most affected, with almost
total losses in many areas. This report provides data on the initial signs of recovery and
new recruitment.
Bangladesh
St. Martin’s is the only coral reef and it is heavily influenced by monsoons, frequent
cyclones and heavy sedimentation from the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers.
Corals exist as aggregations in seagrass beds and rocky habitats.
Chagos Archipelago
These 6 major atolls, many small islands and atolls, and submerged shoals form the
southern end of the Laccadive-Chagos ridge. These constitute the largest area of nearpristine
reefs in the Indian Ocean, and have high biodiversity. They belong to the United
Kingdom with a US military base on Diego Garcia.
India
Coral reefs are found in 4 major areas. Two are adjacent to the mainland of India: Gulf of
Mannar; and the Gulf of Kutch (Kachchh). The other two are the offshore island chains of
the Andaman and Nicobars and Lakshadweep Islands. Fringing, platform, patch and
barrier reefs occur around 21 islands (2 of which are submerged below 3m) along the
103