Status of Caribbean coral reefs after bleaching and hurricanes in 2005

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1. In t r o d u c t i o nThe crisis facing coral reefs was only fully recognised during the last two decades. Gradualand chronic stresses have resulted in major losses of coral reefs in areas surrounding largehuman populations, but the pace of change was slow. Over-fishing and destructive fishing,pollution with nutrients and sediments, coral diseases, mining of coral rock and sand, andcoastal developments that modified the reefs were the predominant chronic stresses damagingcoral reefs around the word. However, global climate change is now a major threat to the longtermfuture of the world’s coral reefs.The major El Niño/La Niña Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle in 1997-98 resulted in massivelosses of corals in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific. It was estimated that 16% of theworld’s coral reefs were effectively destroyed in about 10 months when sea surface temperaturesincreased considerably and killed corals in many areas, including those remote from damaginghuman activities.Then 2005 was the hottest year in the world’s recorded history, causing a major bleachingevent in the Caribbean without a concurrent El Niño. This year surpassed 1998 and the other8 hottest years during the past 15 years and further confirms a pattern of global climatechange. This report documents the effects of raised temperatures in causing coral bleachingand mortality in the wider Caribbean in 2005 and whether the stressed corals recovered. Thereport also examines the effects of severe category 4 and 5 hurricanes during 2005 that alsodamaged coral reefs and other coastal ecosystems. Fortuitously, several of these hurricanesactually protected some reefs by cooling the waters that were causing heat stress. The damagethat occurred to reefs in the Caribbean, however, has followed centuries of reef degradationfrom human activities.Assessment of climate change effects on marine ecosystems requires a focus on physicalobservations as well as examining the organisms in the ecosystem. The National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration (NOAA) of USA is mandated to understand the environment andecosystem within a changing climate, and use this understanding to improve conservation andmanagement of living marine resources and ecosystems. Thus, NOAA provides products to alertusers of the potential for coral bleaching events around the world through satellite and in situobservations, forecasts and warning systems. NOAA also works with local and regional managersto quantify the effects of increasing seawater temperatures on coral reefs, and determine wayslocal managers can mitigate climate change impacts. A partnership was formed with the GreatBarrier Reef Marine Park Authority of Australia, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,and the IUCN (The World Conservation Union) to produce ‘A Reef Manager’s Guide to CoralBleaching’, featured in Chapter 10. NOAA and the Department of Interior led an interagency15
Status of Caribbean Coral Reefs after Bleaching and Hurricanes in 2005effort to respond to and assess the 2005 massive coral bleaching event in the Caribbean underthe aegis of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force. The effort also involved many government andNGO agencies, including local partners in Florida, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, andCaribbean island nations, to assess the impacts of the 2005 mass bleaching event and makerecommendations on how to prepare for and address future events.The marine life and people in the Caribbean depend on healthy coral reef ecosystems and theservices they provide, especially for tourism, fishing and costal protection. The unprecedentedand region-wide bleaching event of 2005 has, and will continue to have, far-reaching ecologicaland major economic implications for the region. UNEP, via the UNEP Coral Reef Unit, assistspartners such as the GCRMN in collecting, assessing and disseminating comprehensive andreliable data to decision makers on the status of coral reefs. The Caribbean EnvironmentProgramme (CEP) of UNEP provides the Secretariat to the Cartagena Convention on theprotection and development of the marine environment in the Wider Caribbean. UNEP CEPworks closely with its 36 member governments and other stakeholders to create, harmonize andimplement policies, regional cooperation and meaningful actions towards the conservation andsustainable use of coastal and marine resources in the Caribbean, including coral reefs. Local andregional activities are implemented on integrated coastal area management, strengthening ofMarine Protected Areas, coral reef monitoring, control of land-based pollution, and promotionof better-practices for fishers and sustainable tourism. UNEP CEP and the Coral Reef Unit actsas the link for these countries into the GCRMN, to assist them in responding to the impactsaffecting coral reefs, such as those caused by the 2005 bleaching event.Since 2006, IUCN has hosted the Marine Working Group on Climate Change and Coral Reefs(CCCR), a widely representative collaborative initiative established with support from theMacArthur Foundation. CCCR provides a mechanism to focus scientific contributions fromleading research groups, and synthesize the relevance of resilience to coral reefs and climatechange. It seeks to bridge gaps between theoretical science and management application inorder to fast-track the development and use of tools to improve the protection of coral reefsunder the threat of climate change and interacting or synergistic human threats. IUCN alsoworks extensively with members and partners on developing and applying better practices forecological adaptation management, including incorporation of best practice climate changeresilience principles into the design and management of regional Marine Protected Areanetworks and capacity building.WWF is a global conservation organisation that views climate change as a significant threatto coastal ecosystems and livelihoods, and is working to develop adaptation strategies to buildecosystem resilience and improve the ability to cope with a changing climate. Within theMesoamerican Reef Ecoregion, WWF and partners are working to reduce direct human threatsto reefs (e.g. collaborating with agroindustries and local farmers to reduce agrochemical use andworking with fishermen on sustainable fishing practices) while concomitantly implementingcritical steps towards building reef resilience. Through collaboration with partners, WWFassessed the Mesoamerican Reef System in 2006 to ascertain overall reef status and promoteprotection of bleaching resilient and resistant reefs. WWF is also working on strategies tobuild social networks for adaptation, including: improved communication, awareness andpublic outreach; climate witnesses (for local and international outreach); training and capacitybuilding for WWF staff and local counterparts; and climate change policy recommendations(e.g. Government of Belize adaptation strategy) based on local consultation.16
Page 1 and 2: Stat u s o fCa r i b b e a nCo r a
Page 3 and 4: Dedication: This book is dedicated
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Page 25 and 26: Status of Coral Reefs in the Caribb
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Page 37 and 38: Hurricanes and their Effect on Cora
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Page 41 and 42: 4. Th e 2005 Bl e a c h i n g Ev e
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Coral Reefs of the U.S. Caribbeanwe
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7. Th e Effects o f Co r a l Bl e a
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The Effects of Coral Bleaching in t
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10. Ma n ag i n g f o r Ma s s Co r
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Managing for Mass Coral Bleaching:
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Status of Caribbean coral reefs after bleaching and hurricanes in 2005

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