Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000

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Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2000 GAPS IN CURRENT MONITORING AND CONSERVATION CAPACITY American Samoa On-island expertise in environmental protection has increased in recent years, and considerable research, monitoring and environmental compliance efforts are conducted by several groups: Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources; American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency; Department of Commerce and Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary; American Samoa Community College; and National Park of American Samoa. However, these programmes are generally small and would benefit from increased on-island capacity. There is also little on-island expertise to identify the 200 coral species and 890 fishes on local reefs, consequently, local staff need to focus on indicator species and monitor key reef resources at appropriate time intervals. Northern Marianas There are a variety of monitoring activities to obtain information on the status and health of coral reef resources, however, there are significant gaps in the data and a need for greater coordination among agencies to ensure that data are compatible and that monitoring activities are complementary. Of paramount importance is the need for CNMI agencies to identify the objectives of marine monitoring. Some monitoring has not had clear objectives, which resulted in data that could not be used to answer management questions, such as the relationship between marine water quality and coral health or the relationship between observed coral damage and activities contributing to coral decline. FSM The expertise in the FSM has been increasing, with a number of highly trained individuals dispersed among the College of Micronesia-FSM, the regulatory agencies and local institutions such as the Pohnpei Environmental Research Institute. Funds are a limiting factor, especially as financial support from the Compacts of Free Association is decreasing. More emphasis needs to be placed on development of local talent and less dependence on expatriate technical staff. Guam Guam is fortunate in having considerable technical expertise in coral reef ecology, management and policy. Three government agencies have staff dedicated to dealing with coral reef and coastal resource monitoring and protection: the Guam Department of Agriculture’s Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources; the Guam Coastal Management Program within the Bureau of Planning; and the Guam Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, there are two research units at the University of Guam that focus on coral reef and coastal environmental issues: The University of Guam Marine Laboratory; and the Water and Environmental Research Institute. Collaboration and cooperation is high among these agencies and institutions, however, funds specifically earmarked for monitoring are limited, especially for water quality monitoring, and more stakeholder involvement is needed. Palau Training in coral reef monitoring and assessment is required so that changes in conservation areas can be monitored. Only with regular monitoring program can resource managers effectively implement management plans. Currently, the few people in Palau with the 212
Status of Coral Reefs of American Samoa and Micronesia ability to perform monitoring and assessment are employed on other tasks. Thus additional people should be trained to ensure adequate monitoring of coral reefs. Many of the training exercises are short and focus on techniques that are easy to use and not time consuming, and coral identification is usually not covered. Coral surveys using life forms would not give an accurate measure of diversity e.g. at Malakal sewer outfall. There were no significant difference in percent coral cover between 1976 and 1991, but species diversity has decreased dramatically since 1973. Without taxonomic evaluation, this evidence would have been missed. Periodically, funds are needed to bring many people together to perform assessment of the whole of Palau from Ngeruangel to the Southwest Islands. Reef studies tend to be limited to Koror and selected places in Babeldaob, while unique areas far from Koror are usually neglected. The last comprehensive work on Palauan reefs was in 1992 during the REA, and many of the places have not been studied since. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CORAL REEF CONSERVATION Overall, the reefs of American Samoa and Micronesia are very diverse and in good condition, but development pressures and increasing population demands are resulting in increases in sedimentation, commercial fisheries, coastal pollution, ship groundings and recreational activities. While reefs in the atolls and less populated areas are in good to excellent condition, many of those adjacent to population centres, particularly on high islands, are declining to fair and poor categories, with noticeable decreases in coral cover, fish abundance and resilience to natural disturbances. Coral reefs in the small islands have a distinct carry capacity, which is clearly being exceeded in some instances. Pro-active steps in preserving coral reefs are evident in all areas presented in this report. American Samoa deserves recognition for establishing a task force on human population. While all acknowledge this is a sensitive issue, it must also be recognised that human population growth is the key element in increasing levels of anthropogenic disturbance. A regional consortium to deal with marine resource issues was recently established with support from the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs, that includes American Samoa, the CNMI, the FSM, Guam, Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The Marine Resources Pacific Consortium (MAREPAC) has developed specific objectives, including: • To develop the capabilities of the regional resource agencies, institutions of higher education, and community-based organisations within Micronesia and American Samoa to deal with issues surrounding sustainable use of marine resources of cultural, economic and scientific value. • To foster cooperation and collaboration among the local and federal resource agencies, research facilities, community-based organisations, educational institutions and the private sector in meeting their mandates, goals and community needs. • To collect, synthesise and disseminate adequate and accurate information in support of sound policy development on marine resource use, addressing present needs as well as the concerns for future generations. The 16-member governing board includes 2 members each from regional resource agencies, institutions of higher education and community-based organisations. 213
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FOREWORD Over the past few years, I
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CONTENTS COUNTRIES, STATES AND TERR
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COUNTRIES, STATES AND TERRITORIES A
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Countries, States and Territories T
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CLIVE WILKINSON T
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Executive Summary CORAL BLEACHING I
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Executive Summary South Asia Most r
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Executive Summary parts of Fiji and
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Executive Summary management and mo
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Executive Summary tourism developme
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Executive Summary problem is loomin
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6. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN SOUTH A
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Status of Coral Reefs in South Asia
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8. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS OF EAST AN
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Status of Coral Reefs of East and N
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9. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS OF AUSTRAL
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Status of Coral Reefs of Australasi
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10. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN THE SO
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Status of Coral Reefs in the Northe
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17. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN THE EA
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Status of Coral Reefs in the Easter
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18. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN SOUTHE
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Status of Coral Reefs in Southern T
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19. SPONSORING ORGANISATIONS, CORAL
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Sponsoring Organisations, Coral Ree
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LIST OF ACRONYMS AGRRA AIMS ASEAN B
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