ASSIGNMENT

NAME: AYETA EMUOBONUVIE GRACE

PROGRAM: INTEGRATED COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT

ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF CORAL REEFS

THE ECOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF CORAL REEFS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING
1. Biodiversity
a. Habitat
Coral reefs are home to over 4,000 species of fish, 700 species of coral and thousands of
other plants and animals. Scientists estimate that more than a million animal and plant
species are associated with them and that they are home to more than 25% of all marine
life.

b. Maintenance of a genetic library/ increase resilience to adverse environmental

conditions
The diversity of species in coral reefs provides a large gene pool giving communities
more resilience during extreme environmental conditions and climate change. This is
important to the overall health of an ecological community. With greater
species diversity, the impact of losing any one species to extinction will be less.

2. Basis for the formation of other ecosystems

Coral reefs are also the basis for the formation of other ecosystems. Corals engineer
the environment, interacting with and creating suitable conditions for other tropical
near shore ecosystems. For example, the grazing of coral formations by hordes of
parrotfish leads to the formation of very large expanses of sand; this, through the
action of currents, leads to the formation of shallows, islands and above all, in
favourable areas, to the formation of mangroves and other coastal forests.

3. Nutrient recycling
Coral mucus acts as an energy carrier between reefs and other near shore environments
whilst sponges play an important role in transferring energy and nutrients between
trophic levels.  They are also source of nitrogen and other essential nutrients for marine
food chains and assist in carbon and nitrogen fixing.

4. Purification of water and air

Diverse catalytic processes take place in the various organisms present in coral reefs.
Some of these processes help in the break-down of pollutants present in the environment.
 5. Coastal protection
Due to their massive formation between the surface and the first few dozen meters of
depth, coral reefs form a barrier that absorbs the elements coming from the open sea in a
very efficient way.
They absorb wave energy and contribute to the reduction of coastal erosion. They reduce
damage in the event of storms, hurricanes and other cyclones, as well as, to some extent,
the energy of tsunamis. In doing so, they protect both the ecosystems between the reefs
and the coasts, such as lagoons with sea grass beds, as well as human settlements along
the coast. Without this protective role, some countries located in atolls would no longer
exist.
6. Source of food for humans
Reef animals are an important source of protein. Coral reefs provide about 10% of the
fish caught worldwide. But this figure rises to 20-25% in developing countries, and 70-
90% in Southeast Asian countries.
“Well-managed” reefs can yield between 5 and 15 tons of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and
other invertebrates per square kilometer.

THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF CORAL REEFS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING.

1. Fishing
The fishing industry depends on coral reefs because many fish spawn there and
juvenile fish spend time there before making their way to the open sea.

2. Tourist attraction
Coral reefs attract divers, free divers, recreational fishermen and lovers of white sandy
beaches. More than 100 countries benefit from reef-related tourism and it contributes to
more than 30% of export earnings in more than 20 countries.
Local economies benefit from billions of dollars, from visitors that come to admire their
reefs to companies exploiting reef ecosystems. In many small islands, more than 90% of
new economic development depends on this coastal tourism.
Reef tourism, if managed in a sustainable manner, i.e. respectful of reefs by limiting the
destruction and pollution induced by this same tourism, especially when it comes to mass
tourism, can provide alternative or complementary income resources for coastal
communities in developing countries.
3. Provision of employment
Coral reefs provide employment for people both directly (those in the fishing and tourism
industries) and indirectly.
 4. Provision of materials for construction and aesthetics
In some coastal areas, e.g. in the Solomon Islands, sand and coral is harvested for use in
construction, land reclamation and betel nut consumption. Also, 1,471 species of fish,
140 species of coral and more than 500 species of non‐coral invertebrates are harvested
from reefs world‐wide for use in the aquarium and curio trade.
5. Source of medicine
A number of organisms found on reefs produce chemical compounds that have been
isolated for human applications. Not only do the organisms inhabiting the coral reef
provide medical treatments but the coral’s unique skeletal structure has been used
for bone-grafting material.
Also, since only an infinitesimal portion of reef organisms have been sampled, analyzed
and tested, the potential for new pharmaceutical discoveries is enormous.
6. Promotion of cultural activities in coastal communities.
For example, in Hawaii, the gathering and sharing of fish encompasses a range of cultural
values including subsistence values (physical and cultural), activity values, knowledge
values and social cohesion.
According to an estimate, the total annual net benefit of the world’s coral reefs is $29.8 billion.
Tourism and recreation account for $9.6 billion, coastal protection for $9 billion, fisheries for
$5.7 billion and biodiversity for $5.5 billion (Cesar, Burke and Pet-Soede, 2003).