Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean

Coral reefs are an integral part of the Caribbean fabric, threading along thousands of kilometers of coastline. Teeming with fish and invertebrate life, these ecosystems provide food for millions of people. Buffering shorelines, they protect the land from the worst ravages of storms. Coral reefs form the foundation of the thriving Caribbean tourism industry, the region’s most important economic sector. The reefs supply much of the sand for the region’s beautiful beaches and lure divers and snorkelers from far and wide to come and explore the reefs’ colorful and mysterious depths. The dazzling array of species living on coral reefs has also attracted the attention of the pharmaceutical industry as a potential source of new drugs and life-saving medical treatments. Unfortunately, these valuable ecosystems are degrading rapidly under the mounting pressure of many human activities. Coastal development, land clearance, and intensive agriculture all contribute damaging sediment and pollution to coastal waters, while overfishing is changing the ecological balance of coral reef environments. In addition, rising sea temperatures have prompted dramatic “coral bleaching” events in recent years, weakening and killing corals in many areas. At the same time, poorly understood coral diseases have spread rapidly across the region, devastating some of the main reef-building corals. Coral reef degradation and mortality will significantly impact the region’s economy through reduced habitat for fish and shellfish, diminished appeal for tourists, and a lessened capacity to protect the shoreline. Understanding the nature and extent of these threats and their likely economic impacts on the future productivity of Caribbean coral reefs as sources of food, recreation, employment, and biopharmaceuticals is of central importance to conservation and planning efforts. Numerous studies are underway to monitor and assess reef conditions at particular locations in the Caribbean, but data gaps persist and, for the majority of reefs, little information is available. Many such efforts fail to combine ecosystem studies with monitoring of socioeconomic and environmental conditions, making it difficult to link changes in coral condition to specific causes. PURPOSE AND GOAL OF REEFS AT RISK IN THE CARIBBEAN The Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean project was launched to help protect and restore these valuable, threatened ecosystems by providing decision-makers and the public with information and tools to manage coastal habitats more effectively. The project focuses on compiling, integrating, and disseminating critical information on these precious resources for the entire Caribbean region. This information is intended both to raise awareness about the threats to and value of Caribbean reefs and to encourage greater protection and restoration efforts. Conducted by the World Resources Institute in cooperation with over 20 organizations working in the region, the project represents a unique, region-wide look at the threats facing Caribbean coral reefs. The collaborative process of data gathering and analysis has produced the first regionally consistent, detailed mapping of these threats. The project provides decision-makers and the public with important insights on links between human activities that stress and damage reef organisms and where degradation of reefs could be expected to occur, or may have already occurred. The maps created by the Reefs at Risk project will assist regional and national organizations in setting priorities for conservation and natural resource management. The analytical tools and threat indicators will also allow managers to assess, for the first time, the source and scale of threats affecting those many reef areas for which more detailed monitoring information is unavailable