Benefits of and Threats to Coral Reef Ecosystems Biological Characteristics

Chapter 2 Theoretical Background: Coral Reef Ecosystems, Social

Capital and Management of Coral Reef Resources This chapter presents theoretical background about the characteristics of coral reef ecosystems, as well as institutional perspective of natural resources and natural resource management, including coral reef resources. The relationships between ecological and social systems is due to the fact that human population are living in, on and from natural resources, including coastal and marine resources. The ecological system of natural resources is dynamic. The ecological system is vulnerable and has a characteristic of resilience. Human seek to understand natural dynamic in order to be able to take benefit, but without deteriorating it. They try to investigate how and to what extent their rate of exploitation is acceptable for the resource system. This is the main idea of sustainable development WCED 1987. The societal responses to this endeavor is evolving: from state ownership and regulation on resource use to community- based management; and now increasingly efforts have been paid to collaborative management between government and community, as well as integrated coastal management, in order to bring together various knowledge and expertise to understand and tackle issues of the ecological and social systems associated with coastal and marine resources.

2.1 Benefits of and Threats to Coral Reef Ecosystems Biological Characteristics

Coral reefs are massive structures made of limestone that is deposited by living things. There are thousands of species inhabit coral reefs, but only specific type of corals produce the limestone that builds the reef CRA 2004. The specific corals that form reefs are known as hermatypic or reef-building corals subphylum Anthozoa. Reef-building corals have a symbiotic relationship with a type of brown algae called zooxanthellae Symbiodinium microadriaticum. Zooxanthellae produce sugars and oxygen through photosynthesis thus helping the coral in the process of producing limestone or calcium carbonate. They can only grow in warm, well lit waters and require a solid surface on which to settle. A change of environmental conditions such as higher temperatures, a change in salinity, or disease can cause coral polyps to expel the algae. This makes coral totally white or known as coral bleaching, and when the bleaching is irreversible, then the coral dies Spalding et al. 2001: 15; Zubi 2004. Coral reefs consist of four main types, namely fringing reefs, barrier reef platform reefs, and atolls Figure 2. Fringing reefs develop in shallow waters along the coast of tropical islands or continents. The corals grow outwards towards the open ocean. Fringing reefs in Indonesia are located in the southern coast of Java, Lombok, Sumbawa, East Nusa Tenggara and Papua Dahuri 2003. Barrier reefs are structures rising up from a deeper base at some distance from the shore, with a lagoon separating them from the coast. Barrier reef can be found in Central Sulawesi and East Kalimantan. Bank or platform reefs are reefs with no obvious link to a coastline that usually lie in sheltered seas and quite far offshore. They are flat-topped with small and very shallow lagoons. Atolls are rings of reef and typically have a shallow, sandy, sheltered lagoon in the middle. They can be found in Taka Bonerate in South Sulawesi ibid. Figure 2 Types of coral reefs. Source: Zubi 2004. Benefits of Coral Reef Ecosystems Coral reefs offer various functions that provide a number of goods and services, such as fisheries, tourism, coastal protection, biodiversity, research and medicinal use Dahuri et al. 1996; Cesar 1996; Bunce et al. 2000: 208; Spalding et al. 2001:47-55. The economic value of coral reefs can be calculated based on a Fringing reef b Platform reef c Barrier reef d Atoll market prices, which generally termed as Total Economic Value TEV. It includes all direct and indirect use values as well as non-use values Figure 3. Southeast Asia has reefs area of around 95,790 km 2 thus is the global center of biodiversity for coral reef fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. The region has over 600 of the almost 800 reef-building coral species. The value of the sustainable coral reef fisheries in this region is US2.4 billion per year. Indonesia alone has reef area of 51,000 km 2 with predicted coral diversity of 581 species. It is estimated that 51 percent of the region’s coral reefs and 18 percent of the world’s coral reefs are found in Indonesian waters. The coral reefs of Indonesia provide annual economic benefits estimated at US1.6 billion per year Burke et al. 2002: 8-15 Figure 3 Total economic value of coral reef uses. Source: Bunce et al. 2000. Threats to Coral Reef Ecosystems Coral reef ecosystems are prone to a number of stresses, both natural and anthropogenic Figure 4 Dahuri et al. 1996; Cesar 1996; Suharsono 1998; Spalding et al. 2001. Natural processes offer stresses to coral reef ecosystems, such as climate change and bleaching. For instance, elevated sea-surface temperatures have resulted in coral bleaching. The 1997-1998 El Niño Southern Oscillation ENSO events triggered the largest worldwide coral bleaching event ever recorded. In Southeast Asia, an estimated 18 percent of the region’s coral reefs were damaged or destroyed. This event has affected Indonesia, particularly in western and west-central Indonesia. Bleaching was recorded in East Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Lombok. In the Seribu Islands northwest of Jakarta, 90 to 95 percent of the coral reef from the reef flat down to 25 m died Burke et al. 2002. Sources of coral reef degradation NATURAL ANTHROPOGENIC Biological Predation and competition Disease Bio-erosion Physical Temperature Tidal Ultraviolet Salinity Tsunami Volcano eruption Earthquake Storm Direct Coral mining Bomb fishing Poison fishing Muroami fishing Tourism Indirect Sedimentation Land pollution Oil spill Figure 4 Sources of coral reef degradation. Source: Suharsono 1998. Pollution, sedimentation, and unsustainable fishing are among others the anthropogenic sources of coral reef degradation. It is estimated that human activities threaten 88 percent of Southeast Asia’s coral reefs, that originating from over fishing, destructive fishing, and sedimentation and pollution from land-based sources. Logging, destructive fishing, overfishing, and other activities that are damaging to coral reefs may be profitable to individuals in the short-term. However, the net economic losses to society from diminished coastal protection, tourism and sustainable fisheries usually outweigh the short-term benefits. Burke et al. 2002 estimated that over a 20-year period, current levels of blast fishing, over fishing, and sedimentation could cost Indonesia more than US2.6 billion. An economic valuation of activities threatening coral reefs shows how the long terms costs outweigh the short term benefits Cesar 1996. For instance, coral mining is estimated to generate net benefits to individuals of US 121,000 per km 2 of reef, however, it causes net losses to society of US 93,600 in fisheries value, US 12,000-260,000 in coastal protection value, US 2,900- 481,900 in tourism value, US 67,000 in forest damage, and unknown costs due to lost food security and biodiversity Table 1. Table 1 Total net benefits and losses due to threats of coral reefs present value; 10 discount rate; 25 year time-span; in 1000 US; per km 2 Net Benefits to Individuals Net Losses to Society Threat .. Total Net Benefits Fishery Coastal Protection Tourism Food Security Bio- diversity Others Total Net Losses Poison Fishing

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