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

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002
THE FUTURE AGENDA TO CONSERVE CORAL REEFS
The Value of Coral Reefs to People and the World
The one global estimate in 1997 of the value of coral reefs to the world in goods and
services was US$375 billion. The investment in research, monitoring and management is
probably less than US$100 million per year i.e. less than 0.05% of the value. There are,
however, larger values which are pertinent for coral reefs. We need to calculate the
replacement value if approximately 500 million people start to obtain diminishing returns
from damaged coral reefs, both in terms of the direct extractive products (food and
building materials) and the indirect values of opportunities lost in tourism or the heritage
values of reduced biodiversity. If reefs cease to calcify and sea levels rise, then whole
cultures and nations could be displaced. It will cost much more to re-settle these
displaced peoples.
Thus on financial considerations alone, there is a pressing argument to increase spending
on coral reef research, monitoring and conservation in order to protect our ‘investment’
in these marine resources.
Where to now?
We are on a cusp with the rate of damage to coral reef resources increasing, counteracted
by an increasing effort being undertaken to conserve reefs. If these succeed and countries
increase their investment in conservation, we should witness large areas of the world’s
reefs recovering from the direct and indirect damage from human activities within the
next 10 years. But, if the threatening clouds of global climate change cause major
bleaching events and reduce the capacity of reefs to calcify, then many of our efforts will
be negated.
The next Status of Coral Reefs of the World report due in 2004 will seek to examine what has
happened to coral reefs in the 10 years since the formation of ICRI in 1994, and assess the
prognosis for reefs in 2014 by gathering information from people in the regions to identify
their needs for achieving sustainable use of coral reefs.
CONTINUING HUMAN DAMAGE TO CORAL REEFS
All regions of the world report that human factors are behind much of the losses of coral
cover and declining health of coral reefs. The major contributing factors are increased
sediments and pollution by nutrients and toxic compounds, or exploitation of reefs for
fishes, invertebrates, algae, rock and sand, that damages reefs in the process. These threats
have been dealt with in previous reports and the regional chapters. But a worrying
concern is that, not only are the corals decreasing, but also there are more alarming
reports of failures in coral recruitment e.g. on Guam and Curacao.
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