Indonesian Coral Reefs Recovering Quick From Tsunami Damage

Sin Chew Jit Poh 26 Dec 08;

BANGKOK, THAILAND: Indonesia's coral reefs damaged by the 2004 tsunami are recovering rapidly, helped by natural colonization and a drop in illegal fishing, scientists said Friday (26 Dec).

Surveys taken after the 26 Dec 2004 disaster showed up to a third of reefs were damaged and experts predicted it would take a decade for full recovery.

Scientists from the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society said their examination of 60 sites on 497 miles (800 kilometers) of coastline along Indonesia's Aceh province showed the reefs were bouncing back.

"On the 4th anniversary of the tsunami, this is a great story of ecosystem resilience and recovery," said Dr. Stuart Campbell, coordinator of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Indonesia Marine Program.

"Our scientific monitoring is showing rapid growth of young corals in areas where the tsunami caused damage, and also the return of new generations of corals in areas previously damaged by destructive fishing," Campbell said in a statement. "These findings provide new insights into coral recovery processes that can help us manage coral reefs in the face of climate change."

A massive earthquake off Sumatra in December 2004 triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people along the Indian Ocean coastline _ more than half in Indonesia.

Reef studies after the disaster found up to 30 percent of reefs were damaged in Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka. The study predicted they would recover in 10 years, but much depended on efforts to control illegal fishing, pollution and coastal development.

In the case of Aceh, Campbell said communities have responded to the maritime conservation calls to protect the reefs. Fishermen have stopped using illegal techniques like dynamite and villagers have transplanted corals into areas that were hardest hit.

"The recovery, which is in part due to improved management and the direct assistance of local people, gives enormous hope that coral reefs in this remote region can return to their previous condition and provide local communities with the resources they need to prosper," Campbell said.

Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a reef expert from the University of Queensland who did not take part in the study, said the findings were not surprising since corals typically will recover if not affected by fishing and coastal development.

"The mechanical damage from the tsunami left a whole bunch of shattered corals on the bottom of the sea," Hoegh-Guldberg said.

"Left alone, these things can quickly grow back into what looks like a coral reef in a short time," he said. "We are seeing similar things around the southern Great Barrier Reef where reefs that experience major catastrophe can bounce back quite quickly." (By MICHAEL CASEY/ AP)

On The Web:

Wildlife Conservation Society: http://www.wcs.org

Coral reefs survive tsunami, endangered by pollution
Asia News 9 Jul 08;

One of the most picturesque marine areas along Indonesia’s coastline could disappear as a result of indiscriminate fishing and pollution. An environmentalist with the country’s Wildlife Conservation Society calls for greater co-ordination between national and local authorities and tighter enforcement of conservation policies.

Jakarta (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Despite surviving the devastating 2004 tsunami, coral reefs around the Indonesian province of Aceh are facing a different threat from pollution and reef fishing. Human activities like unrestrained fishing and the dumping of toxic waste are threatening the survival one of the most picturesque nature reserve areas in the country.

Scientists and environmentalists have raised the alarm after analysing the state of the coral reefs in the wake of the 2004 tsunami. They found that there was no change in Aceh's coral cover directly following the tsunami; never the less, the province’s reefs were in poor shape from decades of net and blast fishing and from ocean pollution.

For Indonesia's Wildlife Conservation Society's Yudi Herdiana, damage to the reef is mainly man-made.

“The damage from the tsunami is quite patchy, the damaged reef in some particular areas is mainly caused by previous human activities such as dynamite fishing or net fishing,” he said.

Pollution from the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, is also another major factor.

Two management programmes, a province-run scheme and one managed by the central government, are in place, but for Dr Herdiana there is need for better co-ordination between Indonesia's national and local conservation authorities, the creation of more marine protected areas, and tighter enforcement of conservation policies.