Managing Local Threats

The combination of global climate change and local threats has resulted in major declines in coral reef ecosystems worldwide. Over 50% of corals may have been lost in the last 30 years, ref with a 14% decline in live coral cover observed just in the last 10 years. ref Corals are now listed as “most at risk of extinction” by the Convention on Biological Diversity, ref with catastrophic repercussions on the services they provide and the people they support, reflecting not just a biodiversity crisis, but also a social, cultural, and economic challenge.

Local and regional threats are often linked with human pressures and coast to reef processes. These threats may occur alone or synergistically with climate change adding to the risks to coral reef systems. However, local and regional threats often originate from sources that can be proactively managed to reduce and/or eliminate negative pressures to coral reefs.

In this toolkit we explore the most pervasive local threats and associated management strategies, including:

• Overfishing and destructive fishing
• Pollution
• Coastal development
• Tourism and recreational impacts
• Coral diseases
• Invasive species
• Coral predator outbreaks

Recreational users and commercial tourism operators play an important role in reef conservation and management. Photo © Jennifer Adler

For more in-depth information, take the Introduction to Coral Reef Management Online Course Lesson 2: Threats to Coral Reefs and Lesson 3: Management Strategies for Resilience.