UN says growing pollution threatens recovery of damaged reefs

Coastal pollution from land development may be obstructing the recovery of coral reefs damaged by rising sea temperatures, the United Nations said Thursday, warning of new threats to the world's oceans.

The UN Environment Programme said in a report that "land-based pollution, reclamation, clearing of coastal vegetation and poor sewage control can damage reefs."

"More importantly," it said, "they demonstrate that protection of coastal land area around marine protected areas is essential for reducing local pollution and facilitating re-colonization of corals."

Coral reefs sustained widespread damage in the late 1990s due to higher than normal surface temperatures caused by global warming that had a severe bleaching effect, it said.

Reef recovery is essential to preserving oceanic eco-systems but is jeopardized by rapid coastal development, UNEP said in the report entitled "Our Precious Coasts: Marine Pollution, Climate Change and Resilience of Coastal Ecosystems."

It found that an estimated 70 percent of the world's tropical coasts have been developed and projected that 90 percent would be developed by the year 2030.

"Nature can always recover, but the domino effect of bleaching events caused by global warming with pollution has significantly altered the ability of coral reefs to do so," said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

Damaged reefs in waters surrounding Mahe, the main island of Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, are recovering at rates ranging from five to 70 percent but those in protected areas are generally recovering faster, the report said.

The findings, presented at an international marine pollution conference in Beijing and in a statement from UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, were released ahead of a major climate change summit in the Kenyan capital next month.

Coral reefs, sometimes referred to as "rainforests of the sea," bring an estimated 30 billion dollars (24 billion euros) in revenue to local fishing and tourism industries around the world, the report said.

No kidding. Liberals come out against trashing nature and to some people, that makes turning the world into one big dump a conservative value. It isn't.

Reflexive opposition to the message bearer instead of a position that stands on its own merits should be left to Dingy Harry and the rest of the congressional socialists.

I think that conservation, and environmental stewardship are important values, and conservative values too.

The problem I have with the 'environmental movement' is that it has become a 'socialist movement'. These people, especially the UN, use environmental matters as a means to power and control. It is quite obvious with Kyoto too, which was well established as a wealth redistribution scheme that would do nothing to reduce emissions. The UN's very own IPCC is a political body, not a scientific one. I do not give them any credibility at all, as it is likely something very vague and designed only to benefit that group.

Furthermore, many of the policies put forward by environmentalists generally do much to harm people, and produce a negative impact environmentally.

There is nothing I love more than spending my time outside, and you can look on my FR page at some of the things I enjoy doing. Anymore, listening to environmentalists does little more than cause a migraine.

Actually, there is a real danger to coral reefs, but it's mostly from the murky water caused by agricultural runoff. Water temperatures a few degrees higher won't kill coral - it actually makes a lot of species really flourish.

Actually, there is a real danger to coral reefs, but it's mostly from the murky water caused by agricultural runoff.

Untreated sewage directly discharged into the coastal waters is also a problem, especially for many tropical countries (i.e., Third World) where the reefs occur offshore. Growing urban coastal populations exacerbate this problem.

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