CORDIO Status Report 2000

species exhibit different tolerances to factors related
to climate change?
• Regional synoptic patterns – How will the outcomes
of questions posed above vary according to local and
regional scales?
Socio-economic
In the central and western Indian Ocean healthy coral
reefs are essential for coastal fisheries and tourism. Subsequently,
initial assessments socio-economic impacts of
the mass mortality of corals focussed on these activities.
Reef fisheries have not shown any obvious declines attributable
to the El Niño induced bleaching and mortality
of coral. This is because, at present, the structural integrity
and topographic complexity of the reefs that attracts
such a diverse fish assemblage remains largely intact.
However, as soon as the reef framework becomes
degraded by erosion a decline in fish catches is predicted.
Moreover, because a substantial proportion of the
coastal fishery is conducted at a subsistence level, declining
fish stocks will undoubtedly threaten food security
among large portions of the coastal population.
Surveys of tourist divers determined that there is already
a potential negative impact of reef degradation on
the tourist industry. Divers interviewed at Zanzibar,
Mombasa and Maldives indicated the state of the reef
would affect their choice of destination and activities,
resulting in economic and financial losses for tour operators
and countries that were significantly affected by
bleaching. However, local differences in tourism markets
will affect long-term impacts. For example, Maldives,
which at present is a popular destination for tourists,
has high occupancy rates and, as a result, has not
suffered excessively from the effects of the bleaching
event because reduced numbers of dive tourists have
been compensated for by other types of visitors (e.g.
Honeymooners). However, the tourism industry in East
Africa, unlike Maldives, is not saturated and therefore,
slack caused by declines in the number of tourists seeking
reef related activities is not compensated for by an
influx of tourists from other target groups resulting in a
greater impact for the national economies of these countries.
The principal questions posed by the socio-economics
projects include:
• Links between biophysical and socio-economic impacts
– What are the links between reef health, fisheries
production and fishermen’s welfare? In this context,
what types of fisheries and reef management might
best address the problem of reef degradation?
• Impacts of reef degradation on tourism– How does the
perception of reef health by tourists affect their choice
of destination and willingness to pay for protection?
In particular, what features of reefs attract tourists?
Can changes in marketing strategies reduce
losses in tourism caused by reef degradation?
• National economic impacts – How will potential losses
in fisheries and tourism affect the national economies
of countries affected by coral mortality?
CORDIO FUTURE DIRECTIONS
The CORDIO program held its second annual workshop,
“Coral Reef Degradation in the Indian Ocean
(CORDIO): Progress to Date and Directions for 2000
and Beyond” between February 10 th and 12 th , 2000, in
Lamu, Kenya. Thirty-one participants attended the
workshop representing CORDIO projects from Sri
Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Reunion, Mozambique,
Tanzania and Kenya, and included participating
scientists from Sweden, Finland and the UK, and
regional and international organisations such as UNEP,
ICRI, IUCN and WWF.
The principal objectives of the workshop were to:
a) Review the status of coral reefs in the western Indian
Ocean, particularly with regard to recovery or
further degradation since the El Niño-related coral
bleaching and mortality that occurred during the
first half of 1998,
b) Present preliminary findings on the current and potential
socio-economic impacts of reef degradation
on tourism and fisheries, and
c) Outline future directions for productive research.
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