Dead planet, living planet

CASE STUDY #33

Too good to be true? The dangers of short cuts to restoration in coral reefs

coral reefs for the services they provide such as supporting in- ternational tourism revenue and fisheries, the very things that underpin the livelihoods of these coastal communities. At a time where there was great pressure to act fast and rapidly assess and repair damage, a number of “too good to be true” solutions arrived on the market claiming to hold the answer to enhance coral reef recovery. As attractive as these solutions appear (from artificial reefs, to electric reefs, re-cemented reefs and trans- plantation) without comprehensive consideration of cost, scale scientific grounding and relevance these proposals can be inap- propriate and distract from the principal task of improving man- agement and reducing the  chronic stressors that inhibit natural regeneration. In response to these concerns, the International Coral Reef Initiative Resolution developed guidance on artificial coral reef restoration and rehabilitation as well as assistance to help implement appropriate restoration of coral reefs. The full document is available online at http://www.icriforum.org/sites/de- fault/files/ICRI_resolution_Restoration.pdf. Photo © Wolcott Henry 2005/Marine Photobank

Coral reefs cover only 0.2% of the sea floor and yet are amongst the most productive ecosystems  on the planet. Close to shore and increasing human activity, they are disappearing rapidly. Nearly a fifth of all coral reefs have already been lost, a figure that could rise to above one third of all reefs within the next 20 years (Wilkinson, 2008). In addition to the long term and per- sistent pressures threatening the health of coral reefs, they are faced with periodic natural events, such as hurricanes, storm surges and destructive tsunamis. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami devastated the region, wiping out whole communities, as well as infrastructure, of both the built and natural environment. In the aftermath, the internation- al community attempted to respond to the many different needs of the affected countries. The coral reef community, through the International Coral Reef Initiative and its operational networks rallied to estimate the scale of the damage and to guide gov- ernments on the best course of action for sustained recovery (Wilkinson et al , 2006) in areas that depended heavily on their

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