Importance, Destruction and Recovery of Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are an incredibly valuable ecosystem. Coral reefs are being degraded worldwide by several reasons such as; human activities, increases in cyclone intensity, climate warming, bleaching and so on. The increasing frequency and severity of anthropogenic impacts throughout the global ocean have an impact on the coral reefs. This worldwide decline of coral reefs calls for an urgent reassessment of current management practices. Coral reefs are important for our world for several reasons.

Hope and doubt for the world’s marine ecosystems

In June 5–9, 2017, during the United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference, 143 governments, signatory parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) declared their commitment and strategies to reach several objectives of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14, which stands to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”.

A framework for understanding climate change impacts on coral reef social–ecological systems

Corals and coral-associated species are highly vulnerable to the emerging effects of global climate change. The widespread degradation of coral reefs, which will be accelerated by climate change, jeopardizes the goods and services that tropical nations derive from reef ecosystems. However, climate change impacts to reef social–ecological systems can also be bi-directional. For example, some climate impacts, such as storms and sea level rise, can directly impact societies, with repercussions for how they interact with the environment.

Ecological connectivity between the areas beyond national jurisdiction and coastal waters: Safeguarding interests of coastal communities in developing countries

The UN General Assembly has made a unanimous decision to start negotiations to establish an international, legally-binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity within Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ). However, there has of yet been little discussion on the importance of this move to the ecosystem services provided by coastal zones in their downstream zone of influence.

Improving Conservation And Sustainable Management Of Coastal And Marine Biodiversity In The Pacific

Representatives from five Pacific island countries have been in Nadi this week to begin the development of regional and national plans to implement the European Union (EU) funded Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) programme Bycatch and Integrated Ecosystem Management (BIEM) compone

Changing geo‐ecological functions of coral reefs in the Anthropocene

The ecology of many coral reefs has changed markedly over recent decades in response to various combinations of local and global stressors. These ecological changes have important implications for the abundance of taxa that regulate the production and erosion of skeletal carbonates, and thus for many of the geo‐ecological functions that coral reefs provide, including reef framework production and sediment generation, the maintenance of reef habitat complexity and reef growth potential.