11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

23.1000
Managing Jamaica’s Coral Reefs And Coastal Developments
Chalene ROYE* 1 , Chalene ROYE 1
1 National Environment and Planning Agency, Kingston, Jamaica
The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is an Executive Agency of the
Government of Jamaica whose focus is to promote sustainable development by ensuring
protection of the environment and orderly development. Working alongside stakeholders
NEPA is able to make more informed decisions in conserving Jamaica’s natural
resources.
An integral role of NEPA is to review and issue permits and licenses associated with
environmental and development projects. One of these licenses focuses on granting
permission for any modification of the foreshore and floor of the sea under the Beach
Control Act (1956) (BCA). Before a license is issued a meticulous review of the
proposed developments and its impact on coastal ecosystems is conducted. In so doing
data is collected on coral reefs.
Jamaica’s reefs predominate the northern coastline of the island boasting a large expanse
of fringing barrier reefs stretching with gaps 150 miles on a narrow continental shelf. The
island’s reefs have been substantially impacted by intensive coastal developments. A
primary contributing factor to deteriorating reefs is the tourism industry, where hotels
have increased their capacity from having 700 to proposing 6000 rooms. This has
contributed to reefs becoming more stressed with fewer reef building corals ranging from
5-37% coverage, herbivores (diadema sp. die off,1983) and a dominance of fleshy algae
up to 57% in some areas. This has cumulatively reduced the availability of suitable
substrate for coral recruitment hence retarding reef growth and building.
Since the introduction of the BCA, developers can no longer modify the coastline at will.
The licensing regime introduces mitigation measures that seek to protect reefs from land
based pollutants. This lessens the stress on the islands reefs creating a more sustainable
reef ecosystem.
23.1001
Ten Years Monitoring Of State Of The Coral Reefs Of Akajima Island, Okinawa
Hiroki TANIGUCHI* 1
1 Akajima Marine Science Laboratory, Okinawa, Japan
The coral reefs around the Akajima Island, Okinawa, had been acclaimed as one of the
most beautiful reefs in the world, and they enchanted many leisure divers in Japan and
from abroad. However, since 1998, disturbances by bleaching and predation of crownof-thorns
starfish (COTS) have significantly threatened and degraded the coral reefs. The
condition of corals was monitored consecutively since the global scale bleaching in 1998
at four stations with 1.6-6.3 m depth around Akajima Island by means of 0.5×30 m belt
transect survey. In September 1998, during the massive coral bleaching, coral coverage at
the monitoring stations ranged 29-37%. In order to enhance recovery of corals, all
islanders of Akajima Island who are engaged in the local fishery and leisure diving
service stopped their activities as well as boat anchoring on their own initiative, for three
years after the bleaching, in a few zones where have been used as SCUBA diving spot
most frequently. One of the monitoring stations existed in the protected zone (about
2×10 5 m 2 ). As a result, coral coverage in the protected zone increased significantly up to
53% by 2001. However, just about same time outbreak of COTS occurred around the
island. The islanders then made effort to remove COTS exclusively from the protected
zone. The coral coverage was remained about 20% there, although by 2006 it was sharply
decreased to less than 5% at 2 stations outside the protected zone. If coral damage by the
bleaching in 1998 is compared with that by the predation of COTS from 2001 to 2006,
the latter was far significant than the former around Akajima Island. The COTS are
disappearing after 2006, and many juvenile corals are being found in some areas.
Recovery of coral coverage is expected in the near future.
Poster Mini-Symposium 23: Reef Management
23.1002
Cross-scale institutional interactions and cooperative management: Lessons from
community-based marine protected areas in the Philippines
Miguel CASTRENCE* 1
1 University of Hawai`i at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
While marine protected areas (MPAs) are the most commonly prescribed solution for coral reef
conservation, their success rate is poor. Since neither local nor higher level environmental
regimes are effective in isolation, there is increasing interest in creating cross-scale institutional
linkages through cooperative management arrangements. However, current efforts to scale up
conservation initiatives are being undertaken without a clear understanding of cross-scale
interactions and their impacts on management effectiveness. The relationship between MPA
performance and institutional linkages was explored in a comparative analysis using data from
two research studies conducted in over 40 community-based MPAs in the central Visayas
region of the Philippines in 2000 and 2002. Data were collected through snorkel surveys of the
reefs, official records, and interviews with fishermen, members of the MPA management
committee, and key informants. Successful MPAs had a high degree of community participation
as well as support from municipal governments, which upholds the argument for cooperative
management. However, the manifestations of such arrangements are variable and context
dependent. Interplay among institutions can be beneficial or harmful, thus it is important to
consider how cross-scale institutional linkages can be enhanced to improve management
effectiveness.
23.1003
Sanganeb Atoll and Dungonab Bay National Marine Park; two marine Parks in the Red
Sea of Sudan managed by an African private organisation.
David KOOISTRA* 1
1 African Parks Network, Port Sudan, Sudan
The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden contain some of the worlds most diverse and varied tropical
marine habitats and communities. The combination of broad diversity, great bio-geographic
complexity, and high levels of endemism make the region of global importance for marine
biodiversity conservation.
Sanganeb Atoll and Dungonab Bay National Parks lie on the western shore of the north-central
Red Sea. The total area these parks cover is around 3000 km2. The Parks contains an enormous
diversity of habitats, many still in very good condition, and a diversity of species including
populations of several globally threatened or endangered flagship species.
A number of ecological and socio-economic characteristics of the area mean that the Sanganeb
and Dungonab MPAs are of national, regional and international importance for biodiversity
conservation, reef resilience studies, interconnectivity, and for sustainable use of living marine
resources.
Both Parks are being managed by African Parks Network in partnership with the Sudanese
Wildlife Administration. The African Parks Network is an African solution to Africa's
conservation challenges. African Parks Network emphasis on the stimulation of responsible
tourism and associated private enterprise as a mechanism for achieving financial sustainability
of the parks as well as providing a foundation for sustainable economic development and
poverty reduction.
487