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PENANG, MALAYSIA, March 5, 2002 -- Scientists today called for better management of Southeast Asia’s marine protected areas in order to halt and reverse the decline of the region’s coral reefs.

“Effective management is key to maintaining healthy coastal resources, but it is inadequate across much of Southeast Asia,” said Dr. Meryl J. Williams, director-general of ICLARM – The World Fish Center. “Coral reefs are the cornerstone of the economic and social fabric of Southeast Asia, yet our activities continue to threaten them.”

The call was issued in response to a new report, Reefs at Risk: Southeast Asia (RRSEA), which was presented today to scientists meeting in Penang. The new report is published by WRI, the United Nations Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC), ICLARM – The World Fish Center, and the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN).

Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia, the most detailed analysis of its kind, indicate that the threats to the world’s most important and most extensive coral reef systems are higher than originally estimated when a similar survey was taken in 1998. The report is part of a unique collaboration between 35 scientists from Malaysia, other Asian countries, the US, Australia and the UK, who compiled a vast database on the region’s coral reefs.

Using sophisticated computer software and a new index of threats, researchers estimate that 88 percent of Southeast Asia’s reefs are severely threatened by human activities. The main threats are overfishing, destructive fishing, and sedimentation and pollution from land-based sources.

"Coral reef condition in Malaysia and throughout Southeast Asia is declining," said Lauretta Burke, a WRI researcher and co-author of the report. "Although our report indicates that the picture is pretty grim, it will provide resource managers and government officials with the kind of information that they need to effectively manage their coral reefs."

There are 646 marine protected areas in Southeast Asia, but of the 332 whose management status could be determined, only 14 percent were rated as effectively managed. Malaysia has 136 marine protected areas, containing 7 percent of the country’s coral reefs, but only 22 of them can be rated as effectively managed.

The report finds that although management requires additional investments, the cost of inaction is even higher. The coral reefs in the Malacca Straits alone have a total assessed economic value of US$563 million for tourism, shoreline protection, fisheries, and their research potential. Over all, the sustainable value of Southeast Asia’s coral reef fisheries is estimated at US$2.4 billion annually.

Southeast Asia is considered the global epicenter of marine diversity. Its nearly 100,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, or 34 percent of the world’s total, house over 600 of the 800 reef-building coral species in the world. About 350 of this species can be found in Malaysia, with Sabah containing more than 75 percent of the country’s reefs.

According to the report, over 85 percent of the coral reefs in Malaysia are threatened by human activities. Destructive fishing and overfishing are the primary threats, impacting 68 percent and 56 percent of the country'’ reefs respectively. Coastal development and sedimentation from upland sources each affect about 23 percent of Malaysia’s reefs.

The authors based their conclusions on a set of new standardized indicators that take into account such threats as coastal development, overfishing, destructive fishing, marine pollution, and sedimentation and pollution from inland activities. These indicators form the Reefs at Risk Threat Index, which identifies areas most at risk and highlights the linkages between human activities and reef condition.

The report concludes that overfishing is the most pervasive threat to coral reefs in Southeast Asia. About 64 percent of Southeast Asia’s reefs are threatened by overfishing. “If fishing in Southeast Asia is not reduced to more sustainable levels, both coral reefs and food security will be further imperiled,” said Mark Spalding, a co-author of the report and an organizer of ICRAN, a global partnership aimed at halting reversing the decline of the world's coral reefs.

The report recommends the following:

• Expand the protected areas network for coral reefs. Currently, only 8 percent of the region’s reefs are in marine protected areas. Reduce overfishing through improved management and the development of alternative livelihoods for fishers. Decreased fishing effort would result in higher catches and incomes for those who still choose to fish.

• Regulate the international trade in live reef organisms. The total value of the trade in live reef fish exceeds US$1 billion per year, with Southeast Asia supplying up to 85 percent of the fish in the aquarium trade and nearly all of the live reef food fish.

• Improve the management of existing marine protected areas, which will require political and financial commitments from government, private organizations, and the tourism industry.

“A major challenge for Southeast Asia in the coming years will be to restrict growth or manage development in ecologically sensitive areas before further degradation occurs,” said Dr. Williams. “In order to reserve the decline of coral reefs, the public must be well-informed and assured of the value of well-managed reefs.”

Funds for the Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia are provided by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the United Nations Foundation (UNF), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

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For more information, contact:

World Resources Institute
Paul Mackie, senior media officer, +1(202)729-7684, pmackie@wri.org

Malaysia contact:
Sabrina Ooi, ICLARM, +(60-4) 626 1606, ext. 251, email: s.ooi@cgiar.org