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Go DeeperUN Conference on Biodiversity Small Country, Big Leadership The Caribbean Challenge Micronesia Challenge Coral Triangle "By supporting island nations with funding, scientific expertise and training, we can help them achieve their goals."— Rob Weary, Conservancy senior conservation finance and policy advisor |
Just below the water's surface lies a magical world teeming with life and value. Coral reefs are home to 4,000 fish species and provide the world with goods and services — such as jobs, foods, medicines and storm protection — worth $375 billion annually.
But scientists estimate that 70 percent of all corals reefs could be lost by 2050 if current rates of destruction continue — from factors ranging from overfishing to climate change.
That's why The Nature Conservancy is supporting three major policy efforts by island nations around the world to conserve marine diversity — the Micronesia Challenge, the Coral Triangle Initiative and the newly launched Caribbean Challenge, which is being aided by a $20 million Conservancy pledge.
Together, these regions contain 83 percent of Earth's coral species, according to James Robertson of the Conservancy's Center for Global Trends.
"The threats to coral reefs are huge and occur across the globe, so coral conservation has to be at a scale that matches those threats," explains Lynne Hale, director of the Conservancy's Global Marine Program.
"The Caribbean Challenge is a perfect example of how the Conservancy is working with governments and people who depend on coral reefs to catalyze bold and immediate conservation action," says Hale.
Caribbean Nations Launch Challenge
The Caribbean Challenge will accelerate marine conservation in the region — with the aim of protecting 20 percent of the region's marine and coastal habitat by 2020.
The Conservancy announced its support for the challenge when it was launched by Caribbean leaders at a U.N.-sponsored conference in Bonn addressing worldwide threats to biodiversity.
The Caribbean Challenge will enable the Conservancy to help participating nations do essential marine conservation work, such as:
- Create new marine protected areas (MPAs);
- Hire, equip and train park managers and other staff;
- Reduce destructive fishing practices;
- Incorporate protection strategies that mitigate the impacts of climate change; and
- Establish a sustainable funding source for future marine conservation.
"The Caribbean Challenge is a broad and collaborative effort," says Rob Weary, the Conservancy's senior conservation finance and policy advisor for the Caribbean. "By supporting island nations with funding, scientific expertise and training, we can help them achieve their goals."
It's an approach that's already working in two of the world's most significant coral areas — Micronesia and the Coral Triangle.
Protecting Marine Resources in Micronesia and the Coral Triangle
Launched in 2006, the Micronesia Challenge is a commitment by five governments to conserve 30 percent of their marine resources and 20 percent of their terrestrial resources by 2020.
In less than two years, the Micronesia Challenge has already spurred the creation of new protected areas and new legislation for the support and management of such areas. Heralded by the President of Palau and supported by the Conservancy, the Micronesia Challenge is the inspiration and model for the Caribbean Challenge.
The Conservancy is working similarly in Southeast Asia's Coral Triangle region — where an astounding 76 percent of the world's coral species are found.
"The Coral Triangle is the global epicenter of marine biodiversity," says Rod Salm, the Conservancy's director of marine conservation in Asia Pacific. "The world's coral diversity hinges on the health and survival of this area."
In the Coral Triangle, Salm and other marine scientists are pioneering the identification and protection of resilient coral communities — those that are most likely to survive bleaching and other traumatic events. They are hopeful that this effort will help save corals from the impacts of climate change.
"It's critical that we begin incorporating principles of climate change resilience to protect corals and all of our marine resources," says Salm. "The Conservancy is leading the way in helping marine resource managers to do this worldwide."
In 2007 the Conservancy helped establish the first MPA designed to withstand the impacts of climate change in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea.
A Global Effort to Protect Coral Reefs
Supporting these three efforts — the Caribbean Challenge, the Micronesia Challenge and the Coral Triangle Initiative — is just part of the Conservancy's worldwide work to protect coral reefs:
- In Florida, a recently completed study is providing important information about where corals survive and flourish in the Keys. The study is part of a reef resilience program the Conservancy launched in 2005 to better understand the impacts of climate change on Florida's extensive reefs.
- The Conservancy has launched a Marine Conservation Fellowship Program to prepare recent college graduates to become the next generation of conservation leaders in Hawaii. Fellows will learn all aspects of marine resource planning, management and monitoring.
- The Palmyra Atoll — located about 1,000 miles south of Hawaii — is one of the world's most diverse and spectacular coral reef systems. The Conservancy purchased Palmyra in 2000 and has since built a major research station and launched an international consortium for the study of coral reefs and global climate change.
- The Mesoamerican Reef — the largest coral reef in the Atlantic — extends more than 600 miles from Mexico to Honduras. In Belize, the Conservancy is working with the local government and partners to protect 13 spawning aggregation sites for endangered reef fish.
(May, 2008)
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Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Turnbull/NAR (Gorgonian sea fans); Graphic © Christopher Johnson/TNC (coral map icon).
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