70% of RI coral reefs degraded: Worldwatch

70% of RI coral reefs degraded: Worldwatch

BANGKOK (DPA): Global warming and harmful fishing methods have
already degraded 70 percent of Indonesia's coral reefs, with
blast fishing causing about US$500,000 in damages per day to the
country's natural resources, a Worldwatch report said.

"Damage from bombs and other disruptions, like sedimentation,
cyanide fishing and coral mining, has severely degraded 70
percent of the nation's reefs and left only 6 percent in
excellent condition," said the latest issue of World Watch, a
publication of the United States based Worldwatch Institute.

Worldwatch, a non-profit research institute, estimates that by
the end of 2000, some 27 percent of the world's coral reefs had
been severely damaged, compared with only 10 percent in 1992.

The battle to preserve reefs, deemed an invaluable refuge and
breeding ground for the world's marine species, has pitted
environmentalists against people, especially in Indonesia.

"This archipelago of 17,000 islands is where the stakes are
highest for ocean conservation - more people live closer to reefs
here, in the fourth most populous nation on earth, than anywhere
else," said the May/June issue of World Watch.

The article pinpointed the practice of blast fishing, in which
fishermen drop homemade bottle bombs on schools of fish to
maximize their catches, as one of the most damaging practices for
coral reefs, which rarely recover from such blasts.

The institute commended Indonesia's pilot project in Kamodo
National Park to organize reef patrols to prevent blast fishing,
which have reportedly reduced the practice by 80 percent since it
began in 1996.

While blast fishing is taking its toll in Indonesia, World
Watch has identified "global warning" as the most serious threat
to the world's reefs.

"If the warming continues, scientists predict that as many as
60 percent of all reefs could be lost by 2030." said World Watch.