International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) conference-Coral reef deaths pose global threats, says minister |26 April 2005

Industrialised countries which contribute overwhelmingly to global warming which destroys the corals should therefore support international organisations which are helping coral reef recovery programmes.

The Minister for Environment and Natural Resources, Ronny Jumeau, said this while officially launching the third International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) conference at the Plantation Club resort on Monday.

Addressing the 80 delegates attending the five-day conference, Minister Jumeau said 20 percent of the Earth's coral reefs have been damaged beyond repair, another 24 percent are under imminent threat and a further 26 percent are under a longer term threat of collapse largely due to global warming among other factors.

He said that although island nations were previously generally perceived as the principal victims of the degradation, the likely economic and food supply effects of further damage would result in dire consequences affecting millions of people around the world.

"The threat to coral reefs is certainly not just an island problem because reefs, including the largest ones border continents and large countries alike," he said.

"We, small island developing states, have to face the terrifying truth that without corals, many of our economies, and the livelihoods of millions of people in other coastal communities will collapse.

"If we allow our corals to die especially in the face of sea level rise, thousands of islands across the globe will disappear, along with whole countries, innumerable communities, entire cultures, and nation after nation of Creole smiles," he said, outlining the many multifaceted efforts Seychelles has made to preserve the ecosystems.

He said that the developed world should commit more funds to coral reef monitoring programmes and to the management of protected areas.

Seychelles principal secretary for Environment Rolph Payet, who is the co-chairperson of ICRI with United Kingdom's John Robert, said that big nations like Australia and those of South America, south east Asia and eastern Africa along with the islands offer habitats which have large areas where reefs are seeded before their eggs are transported by the sea to distant locations.

"The interruption of the chain through destruction of the reefs by a few countries could lead to the collapse of the reefs around the world," Mr Payet said.

"Indonesia, for example is an important centre for seeding vast areas of the world and their failure to maintain the diversity could lead to the feared collapse, according to new research findings which are emerging," he said.
"Many species of fish depend on coral reefs for their food or protection and the collapse of the reefs would lead to elevated costs of fish worldwide," he said.

Earlier reports said that coral damage has occurred in 93 countries around the world with certain parts of the Indian Ocean being so badly affected that researchers fear large zones could be without any living corals in just 20 years.