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Corals under threat from human activity
Wednesday, Feb 18, 2009 9:03AM / Standard Entry / Members only
2 comments‘Black disease’ is killing coral reefs off Taiwan
OVER-DEVELOPMENT: Researchers refer to the coral off Orchid and Green islands as the final paradise in the nation, but say its future is threatened by human activity
By Shelley Huang
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Feb 07, 2009, Page 2
A disease spreading quickly through coral reefs near Taiwan’s outlying islands poses a serious threat to the nation’s marine environment, experts and environmentalists said yesterday.
The International Year of the Reef last year called on people from 157 countries in the world to sign an online petition pledging to protect coral reefs. Each person who signed the petition pledged to behave in an environmentally responsible way — such as by using products that would not pollute the sea and eating only seafood that is caught in a sustainable manner.
Taiwan ranked fourth in the number of people who have taken the pledge, after the US, Malaysia and China.
“If calculated in proportion to the total population and surface area covered by coral reefs, Taiwan would actually be the champion,” said Allen Chen (陳昭倫), assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Biodiversity Research Center. “This shows that Taiwanese care a lot about the preservation of coral reefs.”
Chen was one of the leaders of last year’s reef check project. Funded by Academia Sinica and other preservation organizations, 2008 Reef Check in Taiwan gathered volunteers from local Aboriginal tribes and diving groups to check the condition of coral reefs around the nation’s offshore islands.
What the volunteer divers and researchers discovered astounded them. While coral reefs were still relatively unaffected in the areas off Taitung (台東) and Penghu (澎湖), human activities were threatening their future.
“When we dived down and saw [the coral], we couldn’t believe that such a sight would exist in Taiwan. We thought, this is Taiwan’s ‘last remaining heaven,’” Chen said.
However, human activity such as development and construction, combined with over-fishing, threatens to destroy the coral reefs and endanger marine life, he said.
The researchers also found that a “black disease” was spreading quickly, covering reefs with a black disease and causing the reef coverage rate to drop in areas with more frequent human activity, such as Green Island (綠島) and Orchid Island (蘭嶼).
The discovery of a problem long suspected but seldom documented showed that coral was suffering widely in waters up to 5m deep and 300m offshore, Chen said.
“We still have to do more research to determine where the black disease comes from — is it caused by over-fishing or pollution?” Chen said.
Chen also expressed concern that in all the coastal areas they investigated, there was a serious deficiency of the types of fish that indicate the overall health of marine life. Over-fishing is caused by Taiwanese having a rich “seafood culture,” but lacking knowledge about marine preservation, he said.
Chen and other environmentalists urged the government to view coral reefs as living organisms, not rocks.
“Coral reefs are even more important than pandas because they are the largest living organism in the ocean,” Chen said, urging the government to pass laws to protect the reefs in order to ensure a rich and diverse marine ecology.
The environmental groups will be conducting another round of reef checks this year and encourage those who are interested in protecting marine life to sign up to volunteer at http://e-info.org.tw/node/40662 .
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- Founded in 1996 by marine ecologist Dr...Founded in 1996 by marine ecologist Dr. Gregor Hodgson, the Reef Check Foundation is an international non-profit organization dedicated to conservation of two ecosystems: tropical coral reefs and California rocky reefs. With headquarters in Los Angeles and volunteer teams in more than 80 countries, Reef Check works to create partnerships among community volunteers, government agencies, businesses, universities and other non-profits. Reef Check goals are to: educate the public about the value of reef ecosystems and the current crisis affecting marine life; to create a global network of volunteer teams trained in Reef Check's scientific methods who regularly monitor and report on reef health; to facilitate collaboration that produces ecologically sound and economically sustainable solutions; and to stimulate local community action to protect remaining pristine reefs and rehabilitate damaged reefs worldwide.
In 1997, Reef Check conducted the first-ever global survey of coral reef health that provided scientific confirmation that our coral reefs were in crisis due to over-fishing, illegal fishing, and pollution. The results, published in a scientific journal in 1999, shocked many marine biologists who had not realized the extent of human impacts on reefs. In August 2002, Reef Check released its first five-year report, The Global Coral Reef Crisis – Trends and Solutions, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. Based on data collected by thousands of Reef Check volunteer divers in over 80 countries and territories, the report was the first scientific documentation of the dramatic worldwide decline in coral reef health over a five year period. The report concluded that there was virtually no reef in the world that remained untouched by human impacts, such as over fishing, pollution and climate change. Yet the success stories discussed in the report show that, with proper monitoring, management and protection, coral reefs can recover. It is up to us.
Since then, Reef Check's fast-growing network has expanded throughout all tropical seas, and has played a major role in efforts to preserve and sustain reef ecosystems. Reef Check’s approach is to engage partners, especially businesses in a non-confrontational manner to develop mutually beneficial solutions especially the creation of self-funding Marine Protected Areas. In 2005, Reef Check launched its first temperate reef program in California.
Reef Check has received international environmental awards for its work, and is the United Nations' official community-based reef monitoring program.
Reef Check carries out its work through three major programs:
EcoAction Program – an education and certification program for kids to adults who want to learn more about the ocean and take part in protecting reef ecosystems.
Coral Reef Management Program – a coral reef monitoring and management system that focuses on establishing Marine Protected Areas to conserve coral reefs while encouraging sustainable use of surrounding reefs by local residents.
Reef Check California – a volunteer monitoring program for California rocky reefs designed to provide data for managers and to build a conservation constituency among California divers.
Meet our Los Angeles Headquarters Staff
Reef Check - Education – Science – Conservation
Reef Check is an international non-profit organization devoted to the following goals and objectives:
* Educate the public and governments about the value of coral reefs and rocky reef ecosystems and the crisis facing them
Create a global network of volunteer teams, trained and led by scientists, that regularly monitor and report on reef health using a standard method
* Facilitate collaborative use of reef health information by community groups, governments, universities and businesses to design and implement ecologically sound and economically sustainable solutions
* Stimulate local action to protect remaining pristine reefs and rehabilitate damaged reefs worldwide especially through the creation of Marine Protected Areas.
- Occupation: Association
- Total visits: 31,865
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