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

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Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002 countries have considerable legislation. Improved funding for conservation is a major need, in order to build capacity and resources for conservation throughout the region. In addition, the existing or nascent traditional management systems should be used to raise public awareness of the true value of coral reefs to these Pacific islanders. This chapter contains some new information on coral reef monitoring and Marine Protected Area (MPA) activities, but most of the other sections are edited versions from the chapter edited by Bernard Salvat and published in the ‘Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2000’ report. Readers should consult this chapter for more details or consult the compilation of National reports published by Salvat in 2001. INTRODUCTION These countries (Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Niue, Tokelau, Tonga and Wallis and Futuna) have vast areas of coral reefs, which remain in generally good condition with few anthropogenic impacts. Traditional management is still strong amongst these Polynesian countries which form the ‘Polynesia Mana Node’ of the GCRMN with assistance from the CRIOBE-EPHE Research Station on Moorea. The ‘Mana’ term symbolises the sense of stewardship that Pacific peoples have for their valuable reef resources. Some of the countries in this Node lack sufficient capacity to be fully involved in the reef monitoring and conservation aspects of the GCRMN, therefore the activities are closely linked with the Southwest Pacific Node coordinated through Fiji. Most countries produced national Coral Reef Status Reports in 2000, and these reports are summarised here; other national reports are available on www.reefbase.org. Capacity building for monitoring is needed in these countries, however the small populations and large areas of resources to cover make implementation difficult. French authorities and the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) continue to assist by improving monitoring capacity and increasing coordination and collaboration across these countries. REEFS, PEOPLES AND CULTURES IN THE SOUTH-EAST AND CENTRAL PACIFIC These countries lie across the International Dateline from the Equator to 25° South and contain 12 million km 2 of EEZ, but less than 6,000km 2 of land in 347 islands with 60,000km 2 of lagoons. There are many different island types, including 125 atolls, 8 uplifted atolls and many low coral islands on platforms. The coral reefs in the eastern Pacific have lower biodiversity than those on reefs to the west e.g. for hard coral species there are 115 on Kiribati, 192 on Tonga, but over 350 on the Great Barrier Reef. There are also few estuaries, which also limits species diversity. Soft corals, gorgonians, sponges, crinoids and mangroves are either absent or poorly represented. French Polynesian reefs however have over 800 fish species, about half that found in on the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. There are about 470,000 people, varying from 230,000 in French Polynesia to 2,000 in Tokelau; however, there are often large non-resident populations in New Zealand, France etc. Population growth varies from 0.5% in Tonga to 2.3% in Kiribati. Most of the people live in capital cities or regional towns with few living traditional lifestyles on the outer islands, and more than half of 347 islands are uninhabited. Most people are of Polynesian origin, and can communicate using a common language base. 204
Status of Southeast and Central Pacific Coral Reefs ‘Polynesia Mana Node’ Kiribati, Niue, and Tonga are fully independent countries, whereas Tokelau and Cook Islands are associated with New Zealand, and French Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna are part of the French Overseas Territories. Kiribati, Tonga, Niue, Tokelau, and Wallis and Futuna have smaller economies, whereas the GNP in the Cook Islands, and French Polynesia is higher, reflecting tourism and black pearl oyster incomes, plus considerable funds from expatriate workers and foreign assistance (up to 50% of GNP in some countries). Many Pacific islanders rely on reef resources for food security and cash incomes, especially on low populated atolls. Polynesian peoples maintain strong linkages to the reefs and have a valuable traditional knowledge of reef-based resources. A DECADE OF REEF MONITORING ON MOOREA, FRENCH POLYNESIA There has been annual monitoring of the barrier reef and outer slopes of the Tiahura (north west of Moorea) coral reef system since 1991. Along with collecting a lot of valuable data over a decade on an outer slope, many other lessons have been learnt. The maximum coral cover for a healthy reef at the monitoring site at 12-15m depth is about 50%, with coralline algal cover between 5 and 10%. This graph shows the variation in coral cover from 1991, just before the major bleaching event, after which it dropped to half of this, and has progressively recovered since then. In 1994, the corals bleached but there was little mortality. There have been major recruitment events in 1996 and 2000, which showed up as major boosts in coral cover in 1997 and 2001. These data clearly show the value of maintaining long-term monitoring studies. 60 50 Coral cover (%) 40 30 20 10 0 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Year Coral cover changes on the outer slope Moorea-Tiahura, French Polynesia with the effects of a major bleaching event clearly seen in the monitoring data for 2002. 205
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Status of Coral Reefs of the World:
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FOREWORD Our two governments have r
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CONTENTS Countries, States and Terr
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COUNTRIES, STATES AND TERRITORIES A
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Countries, States and Territories S
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INTRODUCTION We are pleased to endo
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Introduction Some of the larger fou
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Introduction Coral reefs are coming
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CLIVE WILKINSON A
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Executive Summary This report, howe
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Executive Summary GLOBAL AND REGION
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Executive Summary There is clear ev
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Executive Summary Key sites chosen
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Executive Summary • Europa and Sc
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Executive Summary CORAL REEF TARGET
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Executive Summary ICRI OPERATING UN
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Executive Summary COLLAPSE OF CORAL
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Executive Summary Prognosis for the
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Executive Summary concern is an out
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Executive Summary Southern Tropical
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Executive Summary Achievements in E
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7. STATUS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA CORAL R
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Status of Southeast Asia Coral Reef
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Status of Coral Reefs in the US Car
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15. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN THE NO
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16. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS OF MESOAM
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Status of Coral Reefs of Mesoameric
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17. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN THE EA
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Status of Coral Reefs in the Easter
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18. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN SOUTHE
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Status of Coral Reefs in Southern T
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19. SPONSORING ORGANISATIONS, CORAL
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Sponsoring Organisations, Coral Ree
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#Status of Coral Reefs 2002 - International Coral Reef Action Network

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