Expert warns: Coral bleaching to intensify with global warming

A VISITING expert on coral reefs on Tuesday warned that coral bleaching, a phenomenon associated with stress on corals, is expected to intensify in terms of scale and frequency along with global warming.

Terry Hughes, Founding Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies of the James Cook University underscored the need for international cooperation to address the threats to coral reefs, underscoring its importance in marine biodiversity conservation, livelihood and food security.

Currently, he said the effect temperature increase is devastating coral reefs.

Scientists said that a 2 percent increase in the global temperature will cause irreversible damage to the environment, including coral reefs. Under such scenario, he said “coral reefs are in trouble.”

Speaking before a forum on the Coral Triangle Initiative at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City, Hughes said the major drivers of change on coral reefs are pollution from land, over fishing, and climate change.

The forum, organized by the Philippine National CTI Coordinating Committee and the Australian Embassy in Manila, coincided with World Environment Day. Scientists, policy-makers, non-government organizations and international and local environment groups took part in the forum.

Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Bill Tweddell, who delivered the opening remarks, said the CTI is a good example of regional cooperation to help address a global challenge – in this case, the threat to corals. He said the Australian government provides direct support for the CTI, as well as investing in the Coral Triangle region and surrounding areas as part of its commitment to help develop common responses to common challenges.

Such drivers of change on coral reefs, he said, should be dealt with by governments and institutions same way that it is affecting coral reefs: at an unprecedented level and scale, which requires regional and global cooperation.

Hughes said corals are an important part of the marine ecosystem. Its existence, he said, is important not only in preserving marine biodiversity, but in sustaining livelihood and ensuring food security.

He added the CTI is a bold new step in protecting the Coral Triangle region.

CTI is a multilateral partnership among the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste (CT6) to safeguard the region’s marine and coastal biological resources.

Aside from pollution and overfishing, coral reefs experience increased stress brought about by climate change, Hughes said. A sudden or abrupt change in temperature, he said, leads to stress that cause coral bleaching, and eventually, death of corals.

“Bleaching is not a good thing. Thermal stress due to global warming is not good,” he said.

As global warming intensifies, he said coral bleaching would also increase at an unprecedented level.

Without corals, he said, the extinction of fish species is imminent.

The same way, he said corals would likely die without fish, citing an experiment conducted by a team of scientists which led them to the conclusion that the depletion of fish feeding on algae may eventually cause corals to die.

“Maintaining fish stocks is also important in managing the entire ecosystem,” he said.

Bleaching events, he said, are expected to increase in terms of frequency. Coral reef managers, he said, can help address the problem by managing water quality, preventing pollution, and maintaining abundant fish stocks that help corals recover faster from coral bleaching. (Jonathan L. Mayuga)