Coral loss exceeds Amazon destruction
Marine biologists from the University of North Carolina, USA, have drawn together the findings of 6,000 independent studies of more than 2,600 reefs to demonstrate that coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans are being lost at a faster rate than the Amazon rainforest.
Between 1997 and 2003, the rate of coral destruction peaked at two per cent per year; equivalent to the loss of more than 3,000 square kilometres – an area the size of Samoa – of coral every year.
John Bruno and Elizabeth Selig collected data for their study, which was published in the on-line journal Public Library of Science, from 40 years worth of coral studies conducted in the Indo-Pacific region, which represents three quarters of the world’s coral resources.
‘This is the first study to cover such a wide area for such a long period,’ said Professor James Crabbe, an Earthwatch coral researcher and faculty dean at the University of Bedfordshire. ‘What really stands out is that it isn’t just a recent loss in the Indo-Pacific area, but elsewhere as well. Losses have been accruing over a long period of time.’
Previous studies have demonstrated that coral destruction began to accelerate during the 1990s, but Bruno and his team found that widespread losses were reported earlier than previously thought – during the 1960s, when pollution, deforestation and over-fishing began to cause widespread damage.
While the rate of decline in the world’s coral colonies increases, the Brazilian government has recently announced that the rate of Amazon deforestation is at its lowest level since records began.
Deforestation for the year beginning August 2006 was just 9,600 square kilometres, just over a third of the level experienced in 2003–04. The decrease appears to be the result of the implementation of greater protection measures by the Brazilian government, combined with an economic downturn in industries linked to destructive practices within the Amazon, such as soya bean plantations and cattle farming.
‘These figures give us positive signs for the future of the Amazon and the global climate,’ said Paulo Adario, Greenpeace campaign coordinator in the Amazon. ‘We hope the Brazilian government makes use of this historic opportunity to continue and increase the fight against deforestation and definitely stop Amazon destruction.’
November 2007
Between 1997 and 2003, the rate of coral destruction peaked at two per cent per year; equivalent to the loss of more than 3,000 square kilometres – an area the size of Samoa – of coral every year.
John Bruno and Elizabeth Selig collected data for their study, which was published in the on-line journal Public Library of Science, from 40 years worth of coral studies conducted in the Indo-Pacific region, which represents three quarters of the world’s coral resources.
‘This is the first study to cover such a wide area for such a long period,’ said Professor James Crabbe, an Earthwatch coral researcher and faculty dean at the University of Bedfordshire. ‘What really stands out is that it isn’t just a recent loss in the Indo-Pacific area, but elsewhere as well. Losses have been accruing over a long period of time.’
Previous studies have demonstrated that coral destruction began to accelerate during the 1990s, but Bruno and his team found that widespread losses were reported earlier than previously thought – during the 1960s, when pollution, deforestation and over-fishing began to cause widespread damage.
While the rate of decline in the world’s coral colonies increases, the Brazilian government has recently announced that the rate of Amazon deforestation is at its lowest level since records began.
Deforestation for the year beginning August 2006 was just 9,600 square kilometres, just over a third of the level experienced in 2003–04. The decrease appears to be the result of the implementation of greater protection measures by the Brazilian government, combined with an economic downturn in industries linked to destructive practices within the Amazon, such as soya bean plantations and cattle farming.
‘These figures give us positive signs for the future of the Amazon and the global climate,’ said Paulo Adario, Greenpeace campaign coordinator in the Amazon. ‘We hope the Brazilian government makes use of this historic opportunity to continue and increase the fight against deforestation and definitely stop Amazon destruction.’
November 2007
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