MarB 121 ICMRM Module 1.2

Value of Coastal Areas

  1. Coral Reefs

    • Nursery ground & shelter

    • Fishery livelihood

    • Natural pharmaceutical products

    • Physical barrier (waves,strong road construction currents)

    • Nearswuichore coral reefs value of service: US $ 15,000-45,000 ha-1 yr-1

  2. Mangroves

    • Nursery & feeding ground for commercial important fish species (eg. Grouper,Siganids)

    • Shelter & breeding ground for inshore & migratory species

    • Livelihood

    • Ecotourism

    • Shoreline defense against floods and beach erosion

    • Pollution sink

    • Carbon sink

  3. Seagrass Beds

    • Nursery ground,shelter & feeding ground for fish, invertebrates,sea covws, turtle, seahorse

    • Coast stabilization

    • Fertilizer & fodder(livestock food)

    • Pollutant sink

    • Carbon sink

  4. Estuaries

    • Dwelling & nursery grounds: birds,mammals,fish , others

    • natural buffer between land and ocean

    • Natural harbor (ports ,other transportations)

Explain the connectivity of Coastal Ecosystem.

  • Mangrove ,coral reef,and seagrass ecosystems interconnect in terms of providing refuge,habitat for migrating species and settlement of juveniles/post larva from spawning mature fishes. These ecosystems are also beneficial in terms of it's physical function as Wave/current buffer protecting coasts and preventing beach erosions.

Life cycle of Grouper (lapu-lapu)

Mature adult spawns in the coral reef, fertilized eggs drift in currents and settler in mangrove forests where post larva settle in mangrove litter while juveniles hide in mangrove microhabitats where it continues to grow into older juveniles which will migrate back to coral reef to develop into a mature adult where it live for 40 years.

Life of shrimp

It follows a bipartite life cycle wherein it develops in two habitats, estuarine and marine phases. Mature adult spawns where fertilized eggs develop as nauplius in the marine phase, which continues to develop to zoea,and my sis. As the shrimp transition into post larva,it settlers in the estuarine where it continues to grow into juvenile and eventually develop into an adult migrating back to the marine phase

Multiple uses of Coastal Areas

  1. Provisioning services: products /goods

  • Renewable

    • Food

    • Energy

    • Building Materials

    • Water

    • Medicine

  • Non renewable

    • Oil & Gas

    • Sand & Gravel

    • Marine Minerals


  1. Regulating services: ecosystem functions (flood control,climate regulation)

    • Biological Processes : spawning & nursery

    • Hazard Prevention : Waste Processing

    • Maritime Transport : Carbon Sequestration

  1. Cultural Services : nonmaterial benefits

  2. Supporting services: fundamental processes (nutrient cycling, photosynthesis)

Causes of environmental problems in coastal areas

Duration of impact :{short term | long term }

Scale of impact | Certainty of Impact

  • Urbanization: large | mostly certain

  • Pollution : large | mostly certain

  • Fisheries-large | mostly certain

  • Forestry-large | mostly certain

  • Agriculture -large | mostly certain

  • Offshore oil and gas-local

  • Onshore mining-large | mostly certain

  • Wind & wave energy -local | mostly uncertain

  • Aquaculture -local | mostly uncertain

  • Dredging -local | mostly uncertain

Coastalization

  • The gradual increase in the density of population, concentration of economic activities,& development of infrastructure in coastal spaces.

  • Ecological elements in coastal watershed→ transfromatiom→ coastalization

  1. Agriculture

    • Direct impact: eutrophication,pollution,salination

    • Indirect: biodiversity loss,erosion, subsidence

  2. Urbanization

    • Direct impact: eutrophication,pollution,habitat loss, turbidity,sediment movement

    • Indirect: biodiversity loss,erosion

  3. Climate Change

    • Direct impact: sea level rise, temperature rise,flooding,erosion, acidification

    • Indirect: biodiversity loss, altered species abundance

Loss of biodiversity is indirectly associated with all human activities.

What are the causes of environmental problems in coastal areas?

  • Institution failures,such as the lack of appropriate management measures, & open access & overexploitation of resources

  • Poverty which leads to environmental degradation due to too much dependence /limited livelihood options

  • Increasing population exerts pressure on resources , initiates rapid urbanization which results to unequal development

A. Institutional Failures

  • Lack of management measures & open access & overexploitation of resources

  • Failure of the market system

  • Inappropriate/inconsistent application of government policies

  • Information failure ( decision making)

  • inadequate budgetary commitments & funding

  • failure to develop skilled human resources through capacity building

B. Poverty

  • due to limited livelihood options

  • eco-destructive means of subsistence

  • -limited access to land, credit, insurance, & capital markets

C. Population

increasing population exerts pressures on the environment and resource base, rapid urbanization, and unequal development

Cumulative Causation

- the three causes of resource and environmental problems pull in different directions, but feed upon one another

- Individually minor problems that are insignificant on their own can collectively result in significant impacts over a period of time

- Cumulative impacts result from the accumulation of human-induced changes across space and over time

Managing Threats to Coastal Areas

→ Threats to coral reefs (Land Based)

  • Failed septic systems

  • Some chemical from sunscreens

  • Coastal development - impervious surface

  • Storm water run off

  • Deforestation

  • Oil and chemical spills

  • Road construction

  • Agriculture

→ leads to pollution due to sedimentation+ toxins + pathogens + ok increase in nutrients

  1. Coastal Vulnerability

    • conditions determined by physical, social, economic, and environmental factors or processes that increase the susceptibility of an individual, community, or ecosystem to the impacts of hazards

→ spatial concept that identifies people and places that are susceptible to disturbances resulting from coastal hazards.

Coastal sensitivity is the degree to which the coast is physically affected, either adversely or beneficially, by factors such as climate change

Sensitivity : probability of human impact affecting the environment (fore xample, biodiversity loss)

What aspects of the following ecosystems make them more or less sensitive to human impacts?

1) Coral reefs - high diversity makes them more resilient to disturbances

2) Seagrass meadows -

3) Mangroves- ability to adapt to changing conditions

Ecosystems that are well connected to other ecosystems have a better chance of recovering from disturbances as species can migrate and recolonize

→ the interconnectedness of these ecosystems makes it more or less sensitive to human impacts as each play a significant role in buffering impacts of Humana activities such as mangrove absorbing sediments and run off protecting seagrass meadows and seagrass sediment anchorage helps buffer terrestrial sediments from getting into coral reefs,while reefs help in dampening current and wave buffering which helps seagrass and mangroves mitigate strong currents.


What are localised threats to coral reefs?

  • fishing

  • Agriculture

  • Forestry

  • Building development

  • Industrial activity

  • Tourism

→ important management options:

  • Increased Regulation

  • Increased enforcement

  • Subsiding alternative activities

  • Promoting environmental ware