How to Save Fiji's Coral Reefs

December 2013

How to Save Fiji's Coral Reefs

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131217155329.htm

     “Thinking about the connections between the land and sea is rarely done when designing protected areas – Fiji is leading the way globally," said Dr. Carissa Klein, one of the many authors of the online edition of Marine Policy.

     Although many "managers" realize how downstream ecosystems such as coral reefs can be negatively affected by land-based activities, there have been few ‘on-the-ground’ cases where protected area networks have been designed using integrated planning to minimize external threats that cause increases in runoff and associated sediments, nutrients, and chemicals.

     The small island and developing state Fiji is just one example where selection of the locations of terrestrial protected areas have been based more on the cultural or timber value of forests than on protecting biodiversity. Fiji's current terrestrial protected areas cover less than 3 percent of land area in the country. However, these protected areas do not protect Fiji's sensitive island habitats and species or help minimize runoff to adjacent coral reefs.

     In 2008, a national Protected Area Committee was created by the Fiji government to achieve the goals of protecting 20 percent of the country's land and 30 percent of its coastal waters by the year 2020. The study authors contributed by systematically analyzing six scenarios for expanding Fiji's network of terrestrial protected area networks, with the aim to expose how well each approach would protect different forest types and minimize land-based runoff to downstream coral reefs. The study authors also recommended that some additional forests be added to their national register of priority places for protection.

     The committee took this advice and added additional forest areas to the final register of priority places for management endorsed by the Fiji government National Environment Council in October 2013.

     Dr. Caleb McClennen, director of the WCS Marine Program stated, "Their decision to take action and link land to sea conservation helps to ensure the long term security of their globally important coral reef ecosystems while supporting the livelihoods and resilience of coastal communities."