----- Original Message -----
From: Patty Debenham
To: PACIFIC@...
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 3:18 AM
Subject: [PACIFIC] More Than Half the World's Coral Reefs Endangered


The following press release comes from a meeting held this week in Bangkok
by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.


NEWS RELEASE


Not all doom and gloom even if 58% of the world's coral reefs are now
endangered

Bangkok , Thailand, 19 November 2004
(IUCN) - Although it reveals that over 58% of
all coral reefs are now endangered, the 2004 edition of the Status of
Coral Reefs of the World points to much progress and recovery. Today
at the 3 rd IUCN World Conservation Congress in Bangkok experts presented
the progress in coral reef monitoring and status over the last decade that
next month will be published in Status of Coral Reefs of the
World.

Once again, human impacts are to blame for the depletion of reefs.
Sedimentation, land-based pollution, over harvesting of reef fish and
other resources, added to the effects of climate change and the presence
of invasive species are responsible for the current status of these marine
marvels.

"With so many reefs endangered, efforts to save corals could be
overlooked. The 2004 Status of Coral Reefs of the World pinpoints
where and how progress is being made and instils hope that these marine
treasures will persist, for people to enjoy and benefit from," said Carl
Gustaf Lundin, Head of the IUCN Global Marine Programme.

Coral reefs are some of the most valuable, species-diverse and
spectacular places on earth. Approximately 100,000 coral reef and
reef-associated species have been described to date, but experts have
barely begun to catalogue the total number of species inhabiting the
world's reefs and some estimate that there could be 2 million species or
more. Reefs protect coastlines from erosion, provide a home for many
economically important marine species, and form an important link in
cycling nutrients from land to the open ocean.

From a human perspective, coral reefs represent a critical resource. It
is estimated that reefs provide seafood for one billion people in Asia
alone, many of them from poor communities. Reef-based activities,
principally fishing and tourism provide economic livelihoods for millions
of others.

Notwithstanding their value, reefs face further stress from coral
disease, invasive species and coral "bleaching" brought about by rapid
climate change. Pressures on coral reefs from coral predators such as the
crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) and coral disease appear to have
stabilized or even reduced; but there are still severe problems on some
reefs. The evidence points to both of these being exacerbated by human
pressures, through the removal of predators of COTS and
increasing water temperatures that stress corals making them more
susceptible to coral diseases.

Some recent global trends

Global threats to coral reefs have apparently stabilised, such that:

. Coral reefs have continued to recover after the 1998 El Nino global
coral bleaching event, with strong and healthy recovery in well-managed
and remote reefs; however, the recovery is not uniform and many reefs
virtually destroyed in 1998 are showing minimal signs of recovery.
Recovery should continue, provided that there are no major climate
shifts in the next few decades;

. The coral bleaching in 1998 was a 1 in a 1000 year event in many
regions with no past history of such damage in official government
records or in the memories of traditional cultures of the affected coral
reef countries. Also very old corals in the vicinity of 1000 years old
died during the 1998. There has been no repeat of coral bleaching at the
same global scale in the 6 years since, although some more localised
bleaching events occurred in 2000 and 2003 causing damage to reefs.

. Increasing sea surface temperatures and CO 2 concentrations provide
clear evidence of global climate change in the tropics, and current
predictions are that the extreme events of 1998 will become more common
in the next 50 years, i.e. massive global bleaching mortality will not
be a 1/1000 year event in the future, but a regular event.

Some recent regional trends

. The corals on many Caribbean reefs have declined by up to 80%, and
many reefs do not resemble the reefs of 30 years ago. However there are
encouraging signs of recovery in some areas;

. There are few encouraging signs for reefs in the higher diversity
areas of Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, where human pressures
continue to increase, whereas reefs in the Pacific and around Australia
remain quite healthy

. In south Asia, over 60% of the reefs were killed during the 1998
mass bleaching. Today almost half of the reefs remain dead and many are
showing signs of a shift to permanent algal domination. Although
governments have made efforts to improve legislation, management and
monitoring remain insufficient. "As long as poverty, population growth
and lack of alternative livelihoods keep people dependent on already
depleted reef resources, the coral reefs of South Asia will continue to
degrade", says Jerker Tamelander, Coordinator, CORDIO/IUCN Regional
Marine Programme South Asia.

. Small Island Developing States in all oceans remain particularly
vulnerable to climate change due to the critical importance of coral
reefs and reef resources in providing livelihoods, food and economic
sustenance.

The Status of Coral Reefs of the World series

The Status of Coral Reefs of the World reports, released by the Global
Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), are the major mechanism to carry
messages from the international coral reef scientific community to a wider
audience. Production of the report is dependent on input from over 80
countries and states, as well as other partners active in coral reef
monitoring, research, conservation, management and policy setting.

What's new in the 2004 edition?

Although the plight of coral reefs remains very precarious, Status 2004
will not be all "doom and gloom". New features will include:

. A review of the progress in coral reef monitoring and status since
1994 when the International Coral Reef Initiative and the Global Coral
Reef Monitoring Network were established;

. A review of new initiatives in coral reef conservation and
management in the last two years;

. A review of the effectiveness of the GCRMN in raising awareness;

. A review of the progress in monitoring in marine protected areas
(MPAs) and special sites;

. A prediction of reef status in 2014; and

. Recommendations for better reef management and status by 2014.

. For the first time this report assesses the status of cold water
coral reefs in the world.

For more information contact:

Carl Gustaf Lundin, Head, IUCN Global Marine
Programme;
Mobile in Thailand: +66 (0) 41 219421;
Tel +41 22 999 02
04;
E-mail: marine@....

Website:
href="http://www.iucn.org/themes/marine">www.iucn.org/themes/marine

About IUCN
Created in 1948, IUCN -- The World Conservation Union
brings together 81 States, 114 government agencies, 800 plus NGOs, and
some 10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries in a unique
worldwide partnership. IUCN's mission is to influence, encourage and
assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and
diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is
equitable and ecologically sustainable.

IUCN is the world's largest environmental knowledge
network and has helped over 75 countries to prepare and implement national
conservation and biodiversity strategies. IUCN is a multicultural,
multilingual organization with 1000 staff located in 62 countries. Its
headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland.

The Congress is the governing body of IUCN - The World
Conservation Union. It is held every four years and represents the world's
largest democratic environmental forum where governments and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) jointly establish conservation
priorities, guide the Union's policy and approve its Programme.

The 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress will be held from
17-25 November 2004 in Bangkok, Thailand, under the theme: "People and
Nature - only one world".

--
PLEASE NOTE NEW ADDRESS.
THERE IS NO CHANGE IN PHONE NUMBER OR EMAIL ADDRESS

Patty Debenham, Ph.D.
Marine Biologist
SeaWeb
917 Broderick Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
Ph. 415 771-5757
Fax. 415 771-5715
pdebenham@...
C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
Fax: 25654239