What do you think about coral? Is it just for decoration? Or
one of our ecosystem that living and has to be protected? Coral reefs are
massive structures made of limestone that has been deposited by living organisms,
primarily by coral polyp. It is a small, fragile tubular animal that secretes
calcium carbonate to create a hard exoskeleton. The polyps reproduce thousands
of times to form coral colonies of various shape, depending on the species,
wave action, currents, and sunlight in the area.
For your information, Coral reefs cover an area of over
280,000 km2 hand support thousands of species in what many describe
as the “rainforests of the seas”. Coral reefs benefit the environment and
people in numerous ways. Apart from helping to sustain a crucial ecosystem
within the ocean, and acting as an important source of biodiversity, coral
reefs are useful in a variety of other ways. Corals remove and recycle carbon
dioxide from the air. The reefs themselves also shelter land from harsh ocean
storms and floods, and provide resource for fisheries. More than that, they
attract millions of tourists every year.
They have many benefit that our communities doesn’t care too
much about it. Based on global report
while focusing more specifically on the countries of the Coral
Triangle—Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon
Islands, and Timor-Leste.
Coral Reefs :
- Protect shores from the impact of waves and from storms
- Provide benefits to humans in the form of food and medicine
- Provide economic benefits to local communities from tourism
All around the world, much of the world’s marine
biodiversity face threats from activities and events such as coastal development,
overfishing, inland pollution, global climate change and ocean acidification
caused by some of the excess carbon dioxide emissions absorbed by the world’s oceans.
If climate change is not stopped, coral bleaching is set to steadily increase
in frequency and intensity all over the world. The loss of these fragile
ecosystems would cost billions of dollars in lost revenue from tourism and
fishing industries, as well as damage to coastal regions that are currently
protected by the coral reefs that line most tropical coastlines.
Also found that coral
faces challenges even if global warming is restricted to a 2 degree Celsius rise
which many countries are struggling to agree to meet on given the way climate
negotiations have been going for the past decade or more. There are also
concerns that some current assumptions may underestimate the future impact of
climate change on corals.
What we can do to save this ecosystem? According to the Coral
Reef Alliance, the international community should create effective marine
protected areas, and make sure that reefs have less stresses on them so that
they have the opportunity to recover from bleaching and adapt to increasing
temperatures. Efforts should include enforcing laws against coral destruction,
controlling pollutants, and controlling coastal development.
There are many living things that live around us. They might
be non motile. But they are live. Why don’t we support our biodiversity as we
living together in the earth as one community? We have to know and care to each
other because we have our own benefit to this earth. Let’s give and take and together save our
planet.
