As the largest coral reef system on the globe and home to 1,500 species of fish and other diverse marine life, Australia's Great Barrier reef is unquestionably one of the great wonders of the natural world. Unfortunately, it is also in grave danger of dying. Recent annual back-to-back coral bleaching events have drastically accelerated the already existing damage to the Great Barrier Reef and its rich biodiversity. The reef is under threat from numerous other pressures, both natural and man-made. These threats include over-fishing, coastal development, agriculture, mining, tourism, and the ravaging ecological impacts of climate change. How is Australia sustainably managing the reef and the land-based and sea life it supports? What conservation threats are being effectively addressed, before it is too late to save the Great Barrier Reef?
Coral reefs are the 'rain forests' of the ocean, containing the highest diversity of marine organisms and facing the greatest threats from humans. As shallow-water coastal habitats, they support a wide range of economically and culturally important activities, from fishing to tourism. Their accessibility makes reefs vulnerable to local threats that include over-fishing, pollution and physical damage. Reefs also face global problems, such as climate change, which may be responsible for recent widespread coral mortality and increased frequency of hurricane damage. This book, first published in 2006, summarises the state of knowledge about the status of reefs, the problems they face, and potential solutions. The topics considered range from concerns about extinction of coral reef species to economic and social issues affecting the well-being of people who depend on reefs. The result is a multi-disciplinary perspective on problems and solutions to the coral reef crisis.
While in the past Australians wrestled with what the Reef is, today they are struggling to reconcile what it will be ... To do this, we need to understand the Reef' s intertwining human story. The Great Barrier Reef has come to dominate Australian imaginations and global environmental politics. Saving the Reef charts the social history of Australia' s most prized yet vulnerable environment, from the relationship between First Nations peoples and colonial settlers, to the Reef' s most portentous moment &– the Save the Reef campaign launched in the 1960s. Through this gripping narrative and interwoven contemporary essays, historian Rohan Lloyd reveals how the Reef' s continued decline is forcing us to reconsider what &‘ saving' the Reef really means.
“It was the first time I’d seen what the ocean may have looked like thousands of years ago.” That’s conservation scientist Gregory S. Stone talking about his initial dive among the corals and sea life surrounding the Phoenix Islands in the South Pacific. Worldwide, the oceans are suffering. Corals are dying off at an alarming rate, victims of ocean warming and acidification—and their loss threatens more than 25 percent of all fish species, who depend on the food and shelter found in coral habitats. Yet in the waters off the Phoenix Islands, the corals were healthy, the fish populations pristine and abundant—and Stone and his companion on the dive, coral expert David Obura, determined that they were going to try their best to keep it that way. Underwater Eden tells the story of how they succeeded, against great odds, in making that dream come true, with the establishment in 2008 of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA). It’s a story of cutting-edge science, fierce commitment, and innovative partnerships rooted in a determination to find common ground among conservationists, business interests, and governments—all backed up by hard-headed economic analysis. Creating the world’s largest (and deepest) UNESCO World Heritage Site was by no means easy or straightforward. Underwater Eden takes us from the initial dive, through four major scientific expeditions and planning meetings over the course of a decade, to high-level negotiations with the government of Kiribati—a small island nation dependent on the revenue from the surrounding fisheries. How could the people of Kiribati, and the fishing industry its waters supported, be compensated for the substantial income they would be giving up in favor of posterity? And how could this previously little-known wilderness be transformed into one of the highest-profile international conservation priorities? Step by step, conservation and its priorities won over the doubters, and Underwater Eden is the stunningly illustrated record of what was saved. Each chapter reveals—with eye-popping photographs—a different aspect of the science and conservation of the underwater and terrestrial life found in and around the Phoenix Islands’ coral reefs. Written by scientists, politicians, and journalists who have been involved in the conservation efforts since the beginning, the chapters brim with excitement, wonder, and confidence—tempered with realism and full of lessons that the success of PIPA offers for other ambitious conservation projects worldwide. Simultaneously a valentine to the diversity, resilience, and importance of the oceans and a riveting account of how conservation really can succeed against the toughest obstacles, Underwater Eden is sure to enchant any ocean lover, whether ecotourist or armchair scuba diver.
Explores the richness of the Great Barrier Reef, how humans have damaged it, and efforts being taken to restore it. Clear text, vibrant photos, and helpful infographics make this book an accessible and engaging read.
Like many coral specialists fifteen years ago, Veron thought Australia's Great Barrier Reef was impervious to climate change. Then he saw for himself the devastation that elevated sea temperatures can inflict on corals.
Tropical coral reefs are important ecosystems. They are economically important to coastal communities living in predominantly developing countries, and also provide shoreline protection, catalyse land formation enabling human habitation, act as a carbon sink and are a repository for genetic and species diversity rivalling rainforests. In the face of mounting man-made pressure from pollution, climate change and over-exploitation, these ecosystems increasingly need action to be taken to ensure their conservation and long term sustainable development. International Environmental Law and the Conservation of Coral Reefs breaks new ground by providing the first in-depth account of the ways in which multilateral environmental treaty regimes are seeking to encourage and improve the conservation of tropical coral reef ecosystems. In so doing, the work aims to raise the profile of such activities in order to reinforce their status on the environmental agenda. The book also has wider implications for international environmental law, arguing that sectorial legal action, provided it remains co-ordinated through a global forum that recognises and reflects the inter-connections between all elements of the natural environment, is the most effective way for international law to enhance the conservation of certain habitats. This book will be invaluable to environmental lawyers, legal researchers, marine conservationists and other stakeholders in coral reefs.
Coral reefs are an important tourism resource for many coastal and island destinations and generate a range of benefits to their local communities, including as a food source, income from tourism, employment and recreational opportunities. However, coral reefs are under increasing threat from climate change and related impacts such as coral bleaching and ocean acidification. Other anthropogenic stresses include over-fishing, anchor damage, coastal development, agricultural run-off, sedimentation and coral mining. This book adopts a multidisciplinary approach to review these issues as they relate to the sustainable management of coral reef tourism destinations. It incorporates coral reef science, management, conservation and tourism perspectives and takes a global perspective of coral reef tourism issues covering many of the world’s most significant coral reef destinations. These include the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef in Australia, the Red Sea, Pacific Islands, South East Asia, the Maldives, the Caribbean islands, Florida Keys and Brazil. Specific issues addressed include climate change, pollution threats, fishing, island tourism, scuba diving, marine wildlife, governance, sustainability, conservation and community resilience. The book also issues a call for more thoughtful development of coral reef experiences where the ecological needs of coral reefs are placed ahead of the economic desires of the tourism industry.
This story illustrates the impacts of climate change on our Great Barrier Reef. It is told through the eyes of a feisty fish called Anthia who starts to see the disappearing colours of the reef as a warning sign that the reef is in trouble
An eye-opening introduction to the complexity, wonder, and vital roles of coral reefs When mass coral bleaching and die-offs were first identified in the 1980s, and eventually linked to warming events, the scientific community was sure that such a dramatic and unambiguous signal would serve as a warning sign about the devastating effects of global warming. Instead, most people ignored that warning. Subsequent decades have witnessed yet more degradation. Reefs around the world have lost more than 50 percent of their living coral since the 1970s. In this book, distinguished marine ecologist Peter F. Sale imparts his passion for the unexpected beauty, complexity, and necessity of coral reefs. By placing reefs in the wider context of global climate change, Sale demonstrates how their decline is more than simply a one-off environmental tragedy, but rather an existential warning to humanity. He offers a reframing of the enormous challenge humanity faces as a noble venture to steer the planet into safe waters that might even retain some coral reefs.
