Manila Bulletin 20 Jan 09;
A marine biologist has warned that one in four of the country’s coral species face extinction due to climate change and local impacts such as overfishing and indiscriminate waste discharges.
Dr. Wilfredo Y. Licuanan, adjunct researcher at the UP Diliman Marine Science Institute (MSI) and chair of the Dr. Alfred Shields Marine Station of De La Salle University in Manila, said rising sea surface temperatures and acidification are adversely affecting the country’s coral species.
Licuanan is part of an international team composed of 38 scientists (including two Filipinos) involved in a Global Marine Species Assessment project. Their findings, published earlier this year, also indicated that one in three of the world’s reefbuilding corals face an elevated risk of extinction due to climate change and local impacts.
Licuanan crosschecked listed Philippine coral species against the "Red List" of the International Union for Conservation of Nature to determine their extinction risk and found that 25 percent of Philippine species were vulnerable.
The scientists said rapid increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes a rise in sea surface temperatures and acidification that, in turn, reduces the ability of corals to build skeletons.
The corals’ resistance to climate change is further weakened by man-made threats such as coastal development, overfishing, coral mining, sewage discharge, sedimentation from poor land-use and watershed management.
Unfortunately, Licuanan said, there is no single solution to deal with the problem. Many factors have to be considered, among them funding, providing alternative livelihood for those who rely on fishing, effective implementation, and sustainability programs.
Ideally, this would entail the national government allotting resources for these efforts and everyone pitching in to help, he said. Unfortunately, there are a lot of gaps and inconsistencies in the mandates of the responsible government agencies.
"Fishing, for example, is governed by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, under the Department of Agriculture, while marine protected areas fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
"The protection of coral reefs, of course, is not an issue that should concern marine scientists alone. Fewer reefs mean fewer fish. And fewer fish not only means a decrease in people’s income and livelihood, but a decrease in food supply, which could force people to resort to fishing practices that could wreak more havoc to the already damaged reefs," Licuanan said.
Local leaders in coastal communities respond more readily when they are made to understand how much they would lose if coral reefs in their areas are not protected. Moreover, in some localities, creating a marine sanctuary that makes up as little as four percent of the coastal waters can make a big difference.
Ideally, marine sanctuaries should be at least 15 percent of the coastal waters. But preventing big commercial vessels from fishing closer to shore is already an effective preventive action against the deterioration of reef ecosystems.
"If we do not protect our reefs, we will not be able to discover other marine species in our waters. Maybe some have already gone extinct without us having known about them at all," Licuanan said.
During the Coral Triangle Initiative Conference held last month, MSI founding director Dr. Edgardo D. Gomez announced that the ongoing studies of Philippine coral reefs showed at least seven new records of coral and one new species.
New records refer to coral species which were previously thought to not be present in the country. The new records attest to the richness of Philippine coral diversity.
Licuanan said it is not enough to know there are corals in a certain location.
"What is more important is to know which coral species are present so as to understand the conditions under which these species thrive. By knowing the ideal conditions for their survival, specific measures can then be taken to prevent their extinction," he said.
