THE exchange of blame this week between Beijing and Manila over coral damage at the Second Thomas Shoal or the Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea has put once more into focus the picture of mutilated reefs in this Southeast Asian archipelago.
Beijing says the grounded BRP Sierra Madre, an old warship, has harmed the ecosystem in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, a criticism Manila has rejected.
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea dismissed Beijing’s accusation as “false and a classic misdirection,” adding “it is China who has been found to have caused irreparable damage to corals…It is China that … jeopardized the natural habitat and the livelihood of thousands of Filipino fisherfolk.”
While the two sides blame each other over this pathetic scenario, we raise once more the sad state of coral reefs in the Philippines, where the reefs are in poor condition.
Ten percent of the world’s reefs have been completely destroyed. In the Philippines, where coral reef destruction is the worst, over 70 percent have been destroyed and only 5 percent can be said to be in good condition.
The rapidly growing population needs increasing amounts of fish and other marine organisms.
However, overfishing, destructive fishing methods and sedimentation have damaged or destroyed many reef areas. Fish catches have fallen well below the sustainable levels of healthy reefs.
Up to half of the world’s coral reefs have already been lost or severely damaged.
And the negative development continues. Scientists predict all corals will be threatened by 2050 and 75 percent will face high to critical threat levels.
Human activities have negatively impacted marine reefs. The drivers of the coral decline are due to human activities like overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution, and the effects of climate change.
Coral reefs of the region have an average 32 percent hard coral cover as highlighted by one latest data collection in 14 survey sites in June-August 2022 with variations from 22 percent to 54 percent hard cover per sites.
One of the most significant threats to reefs is pollution.
Land-based runoff and pollutant discharges can result from dredging, coastal development, agricultural and deforestation activities, and sewage treatment plant operations.
This runoff may contain sediments, nutrients, chemicals, insecticides, oil, and debris.
Increased ocean temperatures and changing ocean chemistry are the greatest global threats to coral reef ecosystems.
These threats are caused by warmer atmospheric temperatures and increasing levels of carbon dioxide dissolved in seawater. As atmospheric temperatures rise, so do seawater temperatures.
