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CONSENSUS DECLARATION ON CORAL
REEF FUTURES
22 October 2007Over 50 scientists of the ARC Centre of
Excellence for Coral Reef Studies today declared the following statements
unanimously:
- We call on all societies and
governments to immediately and substantially reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. Without targeted reductions, the ongoing damage to coral reefs
from global warming will soon be irreversible.
- Ocean acidification due to increased
atmospheric CO2 is accelerating, and will detrimentally effect the growth
and skeletal strength of calcifying species, such as corals. Reducing CO2
emissions is the only way to prevent further damage to coral reefs. Loss of
coral also impacts on many other species and reduces reef fisheries.
- Coral reefs are economically, socially
and culturally important, and therefore need to be sustained. For example,
the Great Barrier Reef contributes $6.9 billion annually to the Australian
economy - $6 billion from the tourism industry, $544 million from
recreational activity and $251 million from commercial fishing. This
economic activity generates more than 65 000 jobs.
- Climate change, overfishing and
pollution continue to cause massive and accelerating declines in abundance
of coral reef species and global changes in reef ecosystems. Even remote and
well-managed reefs are under threat from climate change.
- Coral bleaching has greatly increased
in frequency and magnitude over the past 30 years due to global warming. For
coral reefs, climate change is not some potential future threat – it has
already caused enormous damage that will increase in coming years. Bleaching
due to climate change has already caused widespread damage to the Great
Barrier Reef in 1998 and 2002.
- The world has a narrow window of
opportunity to save coral reefs from the destruction of extreme climate
change. Substantial global reductions of greenhouse gasses must be initiated
immediately, not in 10, 20 or 50 years.
- No-fishing reserves (green zones) are
an important management tool for preserving targeted stocks of coral reefs,
and the ecological functions they provide. To be effective, 25-35% of marine
habitats should be no-take (no fishing) for long-term protection. In
Australia, many coral reefs have yet to achieve this level of protection
(especially in the Northern Territory, Western Australia, south-east
Queensland, and the Coral Sea).
- Coral reef megafauna (e.g. dugongs,
turtles and sharks) continue to decline rapidly, and are ecologically
extinct on most of the world’s reefs. In Australia, current management
practices are failing to maintain populations of megafauna, which are
already severely depleted. Commercial harvesting and marketing of these
species should be banned to allow the recovery of depleted stocks.
- Local action can help to re-build the
resilience of reefs, and promote their recovery. It is critically important
to prevent the replacement of corals by algal blooms, by reducing runoff
from land and by protecting stocks of herbivorous fishes. However, reefs
cannot be “climate-proofed” except via reduced emissions of greenhouse
gasses.
Key Contacts :
- Professor David Bellwood (Fish
Ecologist), James Cook University, AUSTRALIA. Ph: +61 (0) 7 4781 4447.
Email: David.Bellwood@jcu.edu.au
- A/Professor Sean R. Connolly
(Ecological Modeller & Marine Ecologist), James Cook University,
AUSTRALIA. Ph: +61 (0) 7 4781 4242. Email: sean.connolly@jcu.edu.au
- Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg (Coral
Physiologist/Ecologist), University of Queensland, AUSTRALIA. Ph: +61 (0)7
4978 1399, +61 (0) 7 3365 1156. Email: oveh@uq.edu.au
- Prof Terry Hughes (Coral Ecologist),
James Cook University, AUSTRALIA. Ph: +61 (0) 7 4781 4000. Email: terry.hughes@jcu.edu.au
- Dr Morgan Pratchett, (Fish biologist)
CoECRS & JCU, 07 4781 5747 mob 0410471801 Email: Morgan.Pratchett@jcu.edu.au
- Dr John Pandolfi (Coral Reef
Paleontologist), University of Queensland. Ph: +61 (0)7 3365 3050 mob 0400
982 301. Email: j.pandolfi@uq.edu.au
Media information:
Jenny Lappin, CoECRS, +61 (0)7 4781 4222
Jan King, UQ Communications Manager, +61 (0)7 3365 1120, 0413 601 248
Jim O’Brien, James Cook University Media Office, +61 (0)7 4781 4822
Media Release
CALL FOR CLIMATE ACTION TO SAVE
CORAL REEFS
“Being a coral reef scientist these days
can be depressing. So many reefs around the world have collapsed before our eyes
in the past few years,” says Professor Terry Hughes, Director of the ARC’s
Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. “But we’ve got to get past the
gloom-and-doom, and use the best science to find practical ways to protect reefs
from global warming.”
The world has a narrow window of
opportunity to save coral reefs from the destruction caused by extreme climate
change, according to a unanimous statement issued today by leading Australian
scientists (see communiqué, above). The call for action is the outcome of a
National Forum on Coral Reef Futures, held at the Australian Academy of Science,
in Canberra.
“Local action can help to re-build the
resilience of reefs, and promote their recovery. It is critically important to
prevent the replacement of corals by algal blooms, by reducing runoff from land
and by protecting stocks of herbivorous fishes,” says Prof Hughes.
“When corals die from pollution, disease
or climate change, it affects all the other species on reefs that depend on
corals. Without corals, the habitat is destroyed. Many reef fisheries are
collapsing because of coral bleaching,” says Dr Morgan Pratchett, an
Australian Research Fellow at James Cook University.
“Reefs cannot be climate-proofed except
via reduced emissions of greenhouse gasses. Without targeted reductions, the
ongoing damage to coral reefs from global warming will accelerate and soon be
irreversible,” says Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a Professor at the University of
Queensland and Deputy Director of the ARC Centre.
Hughes and Hoegh-Guldberg are both
contributing authors to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which
shares the latest Nobel Prize with Al Gore.
“Climate change is not some potential
future threat – it has already caused enormous damage to people’s
livelihoods that will increase in coming years,” according to Professor
Malcolm McCulloch, a coral reef geologist at the Australian National University
and also a Deputy Director of the ARC Centre. “The oceans are already becoming
more and more acidic due to increased atmospheric CO2”
“Overfishing is another serious issue
for reefs that must be addressed” says Dr Sean Connolly, a Professorial Fellow
in the Centre. “Reef sharks are being decimated while we speak. No-one knows
the long-term effects of removing these important top predators – yet more
than 90% of them are gone already.”
More information:
Professor Terry Hughes, CoECRS and JCU, ph 07 4781 4222
Email: terry.hughes@jcu.edu.au
Prof. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, CoECRS and UQ, ph 0749781399, 07 3365 1156
Professor Malcolm McCulloch, CoECRS and ANU, ph 02 6125 9969
Dr Morgan Pratchett, CoECRS & JCU, 07 4781 5747 mob 0410471801
Dr. Sean Connolly, CoECRS and JCU, ph 07 4781 4242
Jenny Lappin, CoECRS, 07 4781 4222 or 0417 741 638
Jan King, UQ Communications Manager, 07 3365 1120, 0413 601 248
Jim O’Brien, James Cook University Media Office, 07 4781 4822
http://www.coralcoe.org.au/
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