Coral reefs in S.E. Asia in danger

Scientists say the reefs are being blown up by fishermen, damaged by diving tourists or killed off by warming seas

By James East
STRAITS TIMES THAILAND BUREAU

BANGKOK - One third of the world's coral reefs are found in South-east Asia and almost all are under threat from everything from clumsy tourists to fishermen armed with sticks of dynamite.

Besides being home to fish, coral reefs supply compounds for medicines.

The most comprehensive scientific study ever of the earth's coral reefs has shown that not only is there less marine coral than previously estimated but also that much of it is in danger of being blown up by fishermen, damaged by diving tourists or killed off by warming seas.

Scientists working with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) have just compiled The World Atlas of Coral Reefs, an underwater survey that found 284,300 sq km of coral reefs, roughly half the size of Thailand, distributed among 101 countries.

Although Indonesia is named as the world's largest coral reef nation with some 18 per cent of the total, more than 80 per cent of the reefs are in danger.

Dynamite and over-fishing on the reefs are largely to blame for the destruction of the very ecosystem that so many poor fishing communities benefit from.

In the Philippines, the situation is even worse. There, 97 per cent of reefs are under threat from destructive fishing techniques, including cyanide poisoning, over-fishing, or from deforestation and urbanisation that result in harmful sediment spilling into the sea.

A new fishing technique in use off the coast of Palawan is also wreaking havoc. Fishermen dive down to coral reefs and blast them with compressed air hoses to drive fish into nets, breaking up the delicate reefs in the process.

Meanwhile, off the coast of Toledo City thousands of tonnes of mine tailings daily dumped into the sea are taking their toll.

In Thailand, scientists found 96 per cent of the reefs under threat from inexperienced tourist divers who trample on the coral.

The building of resorts for tourists on Thailand's coasts and the destruction of 50 per cent of the country's mangrove trees also meant more sediment and fertilisers pouring into the ocean.

Malaysia's coral reefs are also at risk.

Mr Klaus Toepfer, executive director of UNEP, said: 'Our new Atlas clearly shows that coral reefs are under assault.

'They are rapidly being degraded by human activities. They are over-fished, bombed and poisoned. They are smothered by sediment, and choked by algae growing on nutrient rich sewage and fertiliser run-off.'

However, Dr James Oliver, senior scientist with the Malaysia-based World Fish Centre, said governments in the region were working to save the reefs.

Scientists say coral reefs play a crucial role. Not only are they home to one quarter of the world's marine fish species but they also supply compounds for medicines.

The Aids drug AZT is based on chemicals extracted from a reef sponge while more than half of all new cancer drug research focuses on marine organisms.