OVER EXPLOITATION with dynamite fishing, climate change as well as sediment and nutrient pollution are contributing to the downswing of reefs in this archipelago of 115 million.
Marine ecologists and coral biologists say coral reefs, often called the “rainforests of the sea,” are among the most biologically diverse and economically valuable ecosystems on Earth.
Despite occupying less than one percent of the ocean, coral provides a habitat for approximately 25 percent of the world’s marine life, sustaining more than 4,000 fish species.
But coral reefs – some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world – face threats to their health and survival.
In the Philippines, for instance, the reefs are predominantly in decline, chiefly because of overexploitation – overfishing or overharvesting faster than they can be replaced – with regular dynamite fishing.
Ecologists and biologists say the degradation of Filipino coral reefs follows a similar pattern to that for tropical rainforests, where more than 6,074 of the original forest area has been cleared, and at least 80 percent and possibly 90 percent of the original mangrove forest area in 1920 has been lost.
This clearing, according to them, has resulted in extensive sediment deposition onto nearshore coral reefs, which predominate in the Philippines, resulting in loss of fisheries.
A recent study shows 90 percent of Philippine reefs are in poor to fair categories and none in excellent state, the dismal condition further exacerbated by destruction of marine habitats including dump-and-fill projects, destructive fishing practices, climate change, pollution and man-made pressures.
It is a despairing observation that the government currently has insufficient resources to manage effectively the reefs and protect them from over-exploitation.
With the population increasing, there are few prospects that significant national resources will be diverted towards reef management.
But there is an emboldening strategy that is proving effective for coastal resource management – with governments in the barangays adopting local area management plans.
These were successfully introduced years back and have spread to other regions, with ecologists saying if central governments assisted the decentralization of power, these local management activities may prove to be most effective at retaining coral reef resources against increasing anthropogenic or human-induced stress.
More than 500 species of coral are found in the Philippines – the apex of the Coral Ttriangle which has nearly 1,800 species of reef fish. Of these, less than 200 have been assessed as “effectively managed.”
The recent nationwide assessment of 206 fringing reefs in the Philippines revealed the loss of one-third of their hard-coral cover such that none qualified to be in excellent status.
