Posted on 04 December
2009 - Tuléar, Madagascar – An unprecedented
combination of climate change and increasing
human pressures could have a devastating
effect on coral reefs in the near shore
areas of Southern Madagascar.
A study commissioned
by WWF modeled current threats to the coral
reef system to determine its future vulnerability
to climate change.
The Tuléar reef
is the third largest in the world, and one
of only five large continuous reef systems
in the world.
The reef ecosystem houses
an extreme abundance of different marine
species including nearly 400 fish species
and over 300 coral species. Whales and dolphins
pass through the reef system and marine
turtles graze on the reefs and nest on the
surrounding beaches. The blue spotted bamboo
shark, which is endemic to Madagascar, is
another species that might suffer when temperatures
rise and fish stock dwindles.
People who depend on
fishery on their livelihood, the majority
of the region’s population, would also suffer
severely.
“A destruction of the
reef would leave tens of thousands of people
in jeopardy, with severe impact on their
main source of income or adequate food supplies,”
said Gaëtan Tovondrainy, head of the
marine project with WWF Tuléar.
“With increasing global
temperatures, the corals within Tuléar
reef could succumb to massive bleaching
events and become infested with green algae.
The latter would smother the coral and therefore
reduce feeding opportunities for fish. “
According to the study
the Tuléar reef ecosystem is one
of the most vulnerable sites in the western
Indian Ocean. While some of the reefs around
the smaller islands are in good conditions,
others near estuaries are degraded from
the sediments caused by deforestation upstream.
These human pressures act to make the reefs
more vulnerable to the threats of climate
change.
The global phenomenon
of coral bleaching in 1998 primarily affected
the reefs in the northern part of the region
such as the Seychelles and Comoros. But
nowadays climate change affects other reefs
as well.
“Increased bleaching
of corals and green algae invasions are
two direct effects of climate change on
these important ecosystems and they can
be seen clearly around Tuléar” Tovondrainy
said.
The reef system is vital
for the community’s survival. This region
is home to people from the group who traditionally
migrate up and down the coast in line with
seasonal changes. Nearly 20,000 traditional
fishermen and 15,000 canoes operate on the
Tulear reef system.
This traditional form
of resource use is being threatened and
migrants from inland areas affected by drought
and deforestation increase competition for
resources.
“It is poor countries
like Madagascar that have contributed the
least to the problem but will suffer the
worst consequences. If we can’t stop climate
change, the collapse of the Tuléar
reef system is just one of many severe consequences
for the local population” says Tiana Ramahaleo,
head of the WWF Conservation Science and
Species Programme in Madagascar. “That’s
why we desperately hope for a good deal
in Copenhagen”
