Coral reefs damaged: What’s the big deal?

GS Paper 3

 Syllabus: Environment, Conservation, Pollution

Source: IE

 Context: Coral reefs are not looking too healthy as increased ocean temperature caused by climate change is the main cause of coral bleaching events.

Coral reefs:

• These are limestone structures (found in more than 100 countries) built by thousands of tiny coral creatures called polyps and belong to tropical areas.
• The planet has already lost about half of its shallow-water corals in the past three decades.
• At the current rate, up to 90% of them will disappear by the middle of the century.

Significance of reefs:

• Coral reefs (rainforests of the sea) cover less than 0.5% of the earth’s surface, but they have rich biodiversity – home to about 25% of all marine species.
• A vast resource of potential scientific discoveries (pharmaceuticals of tomorrow). For example, the anticancer agent Ara-C is found in sea sponges on a Caribbean reef.
• About one billion people source their food or income directly from reefs.
• Provide shelter and function as nursery grounds for some commercially important fish (grouper and snapper), as well as invertebrates (lobster).
• Flood protection protects coastal communities from storm surges and waves.
• Reduces coastal erosion.
• With climate change triggered extreme weather events, reefs will play an even more important role.

What if reefs are not protected?

• Threats to marine biodiversity.
• Potential food shortages especially when combined with failing crops from climate change.
• Mass migration, as people try to avoid famine and flooding.

Way ahead:

• Local restoration efforts by transplanting coral
• The establishment of marine protected areas which work like national parks
• Stopping run-off from agricultural and effluence
• Controlling climate change, which presents the biggest single threat to the future of coral reefs

Inta Links:

NATURE AND YOU- SAVE CORAL REEFS

Prelims Links: (UPSC 2022)