Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000

Executive Summary
South Asia
Most reefs in this region were severely affected and some were almost totally devastated
during the extreme climate events of 1998. Reefs on the Maldives, Sri Lanka and parts of
western India lost much of their coral cover, whereas those on some parts of the east coast
of Sri Lanka and most of the Andaman Islands were not seriously affected. These losses
have added to major anthropogenic damage to reefs off the mainland of India and Sri
Lanka, particularly from coral mining, over-fishing and pollution. These pressures will
continue as populations grow. There is an active regional network to assess coral reef health
and socioeconomic aspects of coral reef use, which is raising awareness about the need to
establish more protected areas.
Eastern Africa
All reefs in this region are close to the large continental land mass of Africa, and therefore
experience all the impacts from land: significant levels of sediment runoff; nutrient
pollution; and definite over-exploitation of reef resources from growing populations.
Developing national programmes to assess and manage coral reefs for both sustainable
fishing by local communities and the rapidly expanding tourism industry were given a
major sense of urgency in 1998. There was massive coral bleaching and mortality associated
with the El Niño climate switch with some large areas losing up to 80% of their live corals
(especially parts of Kenya and Tanzania). There is now new coral recruitment, which is an
encouraging sign for recovery, although it is probable that the reefs will have a different
composition in the immediate term. A call has been made for improved regional
cooperation to build national capacity and to manage transboundary problems.
Southern Indian Ocean
The reefs of the northern part of the region suffered severe damage during 1998 as a result
of the El Niño bleaching, with losses of 80 to 90% of the corals in parts of the Comoros and
Seychelles. Reefs around the southern islands were only slightly affected, but the reefs of
Madagascar continue to be under very high human pressures. Prior to the recent formation
of regional monitoring, there was little capacity and limited baseline data. Now there are 44
permanent monitoring sites in these states, however the capacity for the management of
coral reefs remains well behind many other parts of the world. A substantial Node of the
GCRMN was formed with European funding, and has received substantial support from the
Global Environment Facility to expand in the future.
Southeast Asia
This region has both the largest area of coral reefs in the world with the highest biodiversity,
while the reefs are probably under the greatest threats from anthropogenic activities.
Simultaneously there is rapidly expanding capacity to monitor, research and manage the
coral reef resources, which must accelerate as both populations and the economies
expand and put greater demand on reef resources. The extensive network of reef
monitoring is documenting an inexorable decline in the status of the coral reefs, some of
which were also damaged by the 1998 bleaching event (but not as severely as those in the
Indian Ocean). The area is still the centre of the reef live fish trade, worth over US$1billion
per year, with virtually all reefs being hit by roving cyanide and blast fishers. Comanagement
with local communities is emerging as the best method to implement
sustainable management of these high diversity resources.
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