Opinion: A World Without Coral Reefs

It's past time to tell the truth about the state of the world’s coral reefs, the nurseries of tropical coastal fish stocks. They have become zombie ecosystems, neither dead nor truly alive in any functional sense, and on a trajectory to collapse within a human generation. There will be remnants here and there, but the global coral reef ecosystem — with its storehouse of biodiversity and fisheries supporting millions of the world’s poor — will cease to be.

Overfishing, ocean acidification and pollution are pushing coral reefs into oblivion.
Each of those forces alone is fully capable of causing the global collapse of coral reefs; together, they assure it. The scientific evidence for this is compelling and unequivocal, but there seems to be a collective reluctance to accept the logical conclusion — that there is no hope of saving the global coral reef ecosystem.
Roger Bradbury--Ecologist; Researcher in Resource Management @ Australian National University

New York Times Link:
www.nytimes.com/2012/07/14/opinion/a-world-without-coral-reefs.html?_r=1


A Dialog on Coral Reefs:

The key social point (accordingly, in a environmental discussion) is the struggle that’s emerged for environmental groups between “hope versus truth.”
What do you do when the patient’s heart is no longer beating? Do you keep saying, “Sometimes people come back from the dead?” Do you end up like Monty Python’s Black Knight, missing all his limbs but still pretending there’s a serious fight? I don’t know. It’s very sad.

But the picture of coral loss is roughly the same globally. More recently, we’ve been working on the extent of overfishing and predator loss on Caribbean reefs.
A healthy unfished reef is inhabited by top predators like sharks and grouper and total fish biomass is roughly 500 grams per square meter. Yet, the average reef has only 20 grams per square meter — obviously an extreme decrease in fish biomass.

So that aspect of Rogers Bradbury’s Op-Ed in today’s New York Times is generally accurate. The world’s coral reefs have indeed changed, are under enormous pressure, and their future is threatened.

...But the picture of coral loss is roughly the same globally. More recently, we’ve been working on the extent of overfishing and predator loss on Caribbean reefs. A healthy unfished reef is inhabited by top predators like sharks and grouper and total fish biomass is roughly 500 grams per square meter. Yet, the average reef has only 20 grams per square meter — obviously an extreme decrease in fish biomass.

...The world’s coral reefs have indeed changed, are under enormous pressure, and their future is threatened.

Thinking hopefully about a resurgence, of a "distorted" kind, for the oceans' coral reefs, the opinion-maker cited, ex-claims:

It would be nice to think that our successors will be around to witness that resurgence, perhaps because our species has overcome its tendency to experience, but not notice or respond to, such “slow drip” losses, hiding in plain sight.

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/14/reefs-in-the-anthropocene-zombie-ec ology/?ref=science

The end of coral reefs will contribute to the gradual decline of humans. A loss of such an important food source as well as economic opportunity will lead to war all over the planet. There will not be 7 billion people. Instances of massive human death because of the inability to feed are imminent.
It has begun with a European country called Greece. Greece, the supposed cradle of civilization has hardly acted that way in the protection of their own marine ecosystem. They are, in a microcosm, the true definition of why Western civilization, and it's commensurate economic and cultural model is failing like communism did in the late 80's.
They have currently violated international treaty with regards to the protection of turtles and have a lowly educated population that has not done well in the current industrial revolution like Asian nations.
The global recession and inability of nations like Greece and unfortunately, Jamaica, to diversify their local economies forces them to remain in industries like tourism and fishing which are not very good for the marine ecosystem..

That's a poweful opening statement Maro22. I have no doubt that the decline in fish population in the Treasure Beach fishing grounds is influenced in part by the demise of the local reefs.

The unrelenting stress that global capital economies place on the earth's macro-biological systems such as coral reefs, tropical rain forest, coniferous old growth forest, transitional wetlands and sand dune ecosystems has placed thousands of species at risk of total extinction.
What the USA has accomplished in terms of economic strength has given the world a playbook that not all people can participate in. There is a limit to capital opportunities and not everyone can live like a middle class person in a Western economy.
The USA has about 6% of the global population, yet consumes 30% of the global resources, therefore only 21% of the global population can live that way.
Individuals living on bare subsistence will suffer greatly as local opportunities literally dry up like fishing has in Treasure Beach. Fishing methodology has not been sustainable and the Jamaican government rarely takes a leadership position when it comes to environmental protection. Jamaicans seem to generally be devoid of environmental education as the most important parts of the island are not specifically protected

"Jamaicans seem to generally be devoid of environmental education as the most important parts of the island are not specifically protected" Agreed Maro22.

How can teachers and public servants that were not raised in a culture of conservation and unwilling to learn, help those that need to be exposed to this culture. Like NOW!?

We students are being prepared for the fossil fuel dependent world which is built on the premise of infinite growth with infinite resources. I applaud those teachers and students that are aware of the directions best taken to prepare for energy independence, healthy food security and resource protection.

Many are watching those that are trying their utmost to derail sustainable development. The fact that some are paid speaks for what a gwaan.