Sunday, November 25, 2012

The Belize Barrier Reef System




The Belize Barrier Reef System is the largest continuous reef system in the Western Atlantic, spreading over 250 kilometers along the coast of Belize. The reef encloses about 6,000 square kilometers of lagoon, and is home to a tremendous amount of plant and animal diversity; there are over 500 species of fish, 100 different types of coral species, and hundreds of invertebrate species (Maidens & Burke, 2005). 




Historical State of the Ecosystem: Coral Bleaching

Historically, the Belize Barrier Reef System has been greatly impacted by two incidents of widespread coral bleaching. According to Gonzalez (2004), coral bleaching is a reaction of the coral to environmental stress, and occurs when the coral lose their symbiont algae (zooxanthellae) and turn white. This whitening is problematic because the photosynthetic zooxanthellae provide energy and oxygen for the formation of the calcium carbonate skeleton that shapes the coral colony (Gonzalez, 2004). Scientists believe that global climate change is responsible for most incidences of coral bleaching, and evidence from the mass bleaching events in Belize during the 1990s supports this claim; the 1990s were the warmest decade on record with a series of major El Nino events (Aronson, Precht, Toscano & Koltes, 2002).

The first coral bleaching incident occurred in 1995, and resulted in an estimated 10% mortality of the coral colonies, according to a report by the Coastal Zone Management Institute of Belize (Handwerk & Hafvenstein, 2003). The second coral bleaching incident occurred in 1998, resulting in a 48% reduction in live coral cover in the Belize Barrier Reef System (Handwerk & Hafvenstein, 2003). This damage to the reef in 1998 correlated with warmer temperatures, especially in Channel Cay where most of the bleaching took place (Aronson et. al., 2002). Further, a greater percentage of coral was destructed in 1998 than in 1995 because of Hurricane Mitch, a Category 5 storm. Three other hurricanes—in 2000, 2001, and 2009—also damaged the Belize coral reefs, but the damage was not as significant as in 1998; since early 1999, the coral cover has remained relatively stable with slow recovery (Gonzalez, 2004).


Current Human Impacts on the Ecosystem: Ugly! 

            Although rising ocean temperatures and hurricanes are arguably to blame for most damage to the Belize Barrier Reef ecosystem, humans also impact the ecosystem in numerous negative ways. According to Maidens & Burke (2005), some of these impacts include marine-based pollution and tourism. Marine-based activities damage coral reefs via anchor damage; pollution from ports, including oil spills; and the dumping of waste (Maidens & Burke, 2005). While tourism is one of Belize’s greatest sources of income, cruise ships pose a threat to reefs by crushing reefs with their anchors and propellers, polluting the water with oily bilge water, and polluting the air with exhaust (Gonzalez, 2004). 
Mangroves being bulldozed in Belize
            Other major human impacts on the Belize Barrier Reef ecosystem include overfishing and coastal development. Although fishing is a necessity and livelihood for a large percentage of people living in Belize, overfishing, illegal fishing (like with nets or traps) and fishing with inappropriate equipment has threatened the natural resource base that supports local fisheries and has also harmed historic spawning sites (Maidens & Burke, 2005). Humans further impact the ecosystem through coastal development, as Gonzalez (2004) indicates that much of the development has resulted in the removal of mangroves which has numerous negative impacts including: “declines in fisheries including lobster, reduced protection from storms and hurricanes, reduced natural pollution mitigation, sediment runoff, and degradation of coral reef ecosystems and associated endangered species and marine life” (p.22). Gonzalez (2004) notes that marine based pollution, tourism, overfishing and coastal development are particularly harmful because their cumulative effects substantially weaken the health of the reef system and make it more vulnerable to degradation from the influence of global climate change. Thus, although natural events may be responsible for much of the damage to the Belize barrier reef, it is important to minimize human impact so that the ecosystem may better handle these events. 

Then
Now
Marine based pollution
In the 1980s, the reef’s main source of damage was hurricanes.
Divers and boats have damaged the reefs; marine based pollution has resulted in increased algae growth, as well as decreases in fish, bird, and sea turtle populations.   
Tourism
Enacted Belize Cruise Tourism Policy in 1997; allowed a set number of cruise ship tourists to arrive by cruise per day.   
By 2001, 5x as many tourists were arriving by cruise (as was permitted by policy). Policy was revised in 2003, but is still not being strongly enforced and regulated.
Overfishing
In 2002, regulations were put in place to protect 11 spawning sites and created a 4 month closed season for grouper fishing.
Spawning sites are still at risk due to lack of enforcement & awareness of the regulations. Many of the spawning sites have become inactive or reduced.
Coastal Development
Mangroves flourished and there was clean water along the coast. 
In order to build housing and tourist development projects, mangroves have been bulldozed. As a result, the coastline has reduced protection from hurricanes, and the water has been polluted by sediment runoff, among numerous other issues.

The following maps, taken from the Belize Coastal Threat Atlas (Maidens & Burke, 2005), model a few of the human impacts on the ecosystem:

Coastal Development in Belize



 Fishing in Belize: 





Likely Future Prospects For Ecosystem: Grim!

Research indicates that the future prospects for the Belize Barrier Reef ecosystem are grim. Future prospects seem bleak because data indicates that increased ocean temperatures—which are projected to rise in the future—are the root cause for coral bleaching (Handwerk & Hafvenstein, 2003). Gonzalez (2004) asserts that computer models for the next 100 years indicate that unless global warming is stopped, coral bleaching will become more severe and recurrent, potentially resulting in “a complete global loss of corals in most areas by 2100… however the Caribbean reefs could be one of the first regions to experience annual bleaching events by the year 2020” (p.18). Additionally, further damage to the corals is predicted to increase with the frequency and intensity of hurricanes, which are also positively correlated with global warming (Gonzalez, 2004). In addition to natural impacts on the ecosystem, the prospects of the ecosystem appear unpromising because many of the human impacts like tourism, pollution, and coastal development are not being well regulated, thereby not only affecting the Belize Barrier Reef, but also contributing to global warming (through GHG byproducts).

Improving & Maintaining Human Impacts on the Ecosystem


To maintain and improve the human impacts on the ecosystem, the protected areas of the ecosystem should continue to be effectively managed and reinforced. In the Belize Barrier Reef ecosystem, there is a system of 13 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which are managed by both governmental and non-governmental organizations. In addition to the MPAs, there is also a system of 11 Species Aggregation Sites (SPAGS) that have been declared as marine reserves, 7 of which have been declared as World Heritage Sites (Maidens & Burke, 2005). Moving forward, it is important to protect the existing MPAs and SPAGs from human impacts (like tourism, pollution, overfishing, and coastal development) so that the corals will be resilient to climate change and have a greater likelihood of recovering from bleaching events. Further, since reinforcement of the protected areas is largely dependent on foreign aid, it is crucial to find a way to ensure that these areas will be protected in the future (Gonzalez, 2004). Finally, to improve human impacts on the ecosystem, it is crucial to educate people about coral bleaching and to raise people’s awareness of the affects they have on their ecosystem. 

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Belize Barrier Reef System




References

 Belize barrier reef reserve system. (n.d.). Retrieved from 
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/764

 Wells, S. (n.d.). Case study 3: Belize. Retrieved from http://www.westminster.edu/staff/athrock/BELIZE/Reef.html

Gonzalez, C. Belize Institute of Environmental Law and Policy, (2004). Petition to the 
world heritage committee requesting inclusion of the Belize barrier reef reserve system in the list of world heritage in danger as a result of climate change and for protective measures & actions. Retrieved from website: http://www.law.ufl.edu/_pdf/academics/centers-clinics/clinics/conservation/resources/belize.pdf 

Handwerk, B., & Hafvenstein, L. (2003, March 25). Belize reef die-off due to climate 
change?. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/03/0325_030325_belizereefs.html

Koltes, K. H. (2002). The 1998 bleaching event and its aftermath on a coral reef in Belize.
Marine Biology, (141), 435-447. doi: 10.1007/s00227-002-0842-5

Maidens, J., & Burke, L. (2005). Belize coastal threat atlas. Retrieved from
http://pdf.wri.org/belize_threat_atlas.pdf

Young, C. (2008, March 03). Belize's ecosystems: Threats and challenges to conservation in belize. Retrieved from http://tropicalconservationscience.mongabay.com/content/v1/08-03-03-Young.htm

 Image References

http://world_heritage.jaxa.jp/images/heritage/description/ph0794_l.jpg












Posted by at

3 comments:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)