CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS BIODIVERSITY FORUM
Noumea, New Caledonia
30 October – 4 November 2006
Closing Remarks by Dr Jimmie Rodgers
Director-General
Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
Please allow me first of all to express my sincere gratitude to the organisers of this extremely important international
meeting on Coral Reef Ecosystems Biodiversity in the Pacific for inviting me to make some closing remarks.
Whilst the focus of this week’s deliberations has been on science, my remarks will focus more on relationship issues
that impact on the biodiversity of coral reef ecosystems, and on some reality checks and entry points for further
scientific interventions.
That this forum is held here at the IRD in New Caledonia is a fitting tribute to the fact that the Pacific Islands
region, as part of the developing world, is joint custodian of the major proportion of the world’s coral reefs [1].
Yet, unlike other developing parts of the world, the Pacific Islands region is characterised by the vastness of its
oceans compared to its land mass. Only 2 per cent of this massive 33 million square kilometers of total area is land
[2].
It is, therefore, not surprising that in the Pacific, the oceans and seas are part of the lifestyle. Coral reefs provide
a livelihood for many rural and coastal communities. They are an integral part of Pacific people’s lives. However, it is
exactly because of this that coral reefs and their associated ecosystems and biodiversity in the Pacific Islands region
are coming under increasing pressure. Why is this so?
Let us first look at the demographic picture of Pacific Island countries and territories over the past 60 years. In
1947, there were approximately 2.4 million people living in the 22 island countries and territories in the region. By
1979, 32 years later, this had almost doubled to 4.3 million people. Now 27 years on, in 2006 the total population
stands at 8.9 million people – an increase of more than 100 per cent during the period [3]. Note that the time taken for
the population to double is decreasing. We can only imagine what might happen to the biodiversity of our coral reef
ecosystems when the population doubles again in less than 30 years. So why is this important?
We need to understand the intricate relationship between human habitation and the impact of people’s activities on the
environment they live in and rely on for their livelihood. This calls for the types of discussions that have taken place
at this forum over the past few days – to explore and review current scientific knowledge about coral diversity, but
more importantly to better understand the principal drivers that can destabilise the biodiversity of coral reef
ecosystems, and most importantly to come up with practical options that will help safeguard parts of our coral reef
ecosystems for future generations.
So what are the drivers that can destabilise coral reef ecosystems? A number of the papers presented at this forum
discussed (i) environmental changes resulting in stresses, changes in competition and habitat alteration resulting in
reduced biodiversity, which triggers increased vulnerability and loss of ecosystem function [4]; (ii) environmental
factors controlling reef development [5]; and (iii) impacts of coastal development, land-based pollution, and
unsustainable fishing [6].
However, we are left with the question – what are the causes of these environmental changes that affect coral reef
ecosystems biodiversity? I suggest the causes fall into two categories: (i) natural causes and (ii) human related/driven
causes. It is my simple belief that categorising the drivers in this way can provide part of the solution in our
approach to better managing and preserving coral reef ecosystems.
With regard to natural causes, which include such phenomena as global warming, land-based pollution due to natural
causes, super-storms and volcanic lava/ash, we are limited in what we can do to mitigate the effects, or in the measures
we can take to better protect reef ecosystems in specific locations.
However, in relation to human-driven causes, we can do a bit more. This brings me back to the importance of population
numbers and growth, and the balance between the number of people, their economic needs, and the impact of the
development activities chosen to secure the returns they need for economic sustenance.
The equation is simple. Over the past 27 years, the population of the Pacific has doubled. The size of the land area has
remained the same. The size of the coral reefs sustaining coastal populations has remained the same. The pressure on
resources has doubled, due to both subsistence food needs and commercial exploitation. Human activities on land and at
sea have changed dramatically over the past two decades. The principal driver for development is now economic growth. In
many instances, this is at the expense of socio-cultural development and especially environmental protection and
conservation.
Human related factors that can destabilise coral reef ecosystems thus include such activities as land-based pollution
from poor logging practices; pollution from toxic chemicals used in mines that flow into or are dumped in the sea;
dumping of other industrial waste from large construction sites into coral reef areas (a particular risk in atoll
countries with little land for proper waste management); pollution from human waste; and the list goes on.
What is especially worrying about the Pacific picture is that by 2012, the region’s population is expected to hit the 10
million [7] mark. It will continue to increase at this pace unless there is a drastic change in fertility rates in the
fastest growing parts of the region. This will create even more pressure on our diminishing resources, and even more
pressure on already compromised coral reef ecosystems, especially in atoll countries that gain much of their livelihood
from reefs. This, however, can also be part of the solution. It is to do with galvanizing behavioural change in people
and ensuring that they recognise their coral reefs not only as a resource for exploitation for livelihood and/or
economic gain, but also a sacred resource that must be safeguarded for future generations.
This is where science must make a difference. My challenge to you in the business of scientific analysis and research
today is: ‘How can scientific knowledge make a difference to ordinary people in a rural village setting who rely on
exploiting coral reefs for their livelihood?’ Influencing the behaviour, and ultimately the actions, of users of coral
reef resources in a positive way is ultimately what will underpin sustainable development and management of coral reef
ecosystems. How can we create a new paradigm incorporating modern scientific management systems and the best of our
traditional management systems and local and indigenous knowledge [8], which have been proven to work by the test of
time? What legacy do we as today’s experts in the field wish to leave behind for our future generations that they too
may enjoy what current generations enjoy? These are not easy questions to answer, but we must at least try.
Today’s generation of Pacific Island people owe their current good fortune to the choices made by previous generations.
Will our generation be as kind as they were? Will we leave behind for future generations as much as previous generations
left for us? The answer is partly in our hands – if we can translate scientific information in such a way that it
positively influences the behaviour of many to utilise their coral reefs in a more sustainable way, then we will have
accomplished something. The rest of the answer lies in the hands of resource owners and exploiters, and the power of
natural forces.
This brings me back to a best practice example in New Caledonia of the type of approach that needs to be considered and
put in place by island nations in the Pacific. The intention to submit New Caledonia’s reef and lagoon system as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site [9] in 2007 is a model for other nations in the region to follow. The management plans,
developed with the participation of all stakeholders, is an exemplary model of the type of partnership that can work.
This project will protect a ‘marine protected area (MPA’) of approximately 15,000 square kilometers of unquantifiable
value for current future generations. A similar request to include Marovo Lagoon in the Western Province of Solomon
Islands as a World Heritage Site was made to UNESCO in the early nineties.
MPAs continue to be the principal tool used to protect coral reefs from a variety of threats [10]. It is very
encouraging that a number of MPA initiatives have already been undertaken by some island nations of the Pacific. They
include [11]:
• The Fiji Marine Protected Areas network – announced during the Mauritius Meeting in which Fiji committed to
establish a network of MPAs covering 30 per cent of its inshore and offshore marine areas by 2020. To date, Fiji has
already achieved 10 per cent MPA coverage. As a result, it received a ‘Global Ocean Conservation Award’ in June 2006.
• The Kiribati Phoenix Islands Marine Protected Area – announced in Curitiba in March this year. Kiribati has
decreed the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), which covers nearshore and deep ocean resources of over 184,000
square kilometers – making it the third largest MPA in the world.
• The Micronesian Challenge – also announced in Curitiba. Five Micronesian countries and territories – Palau,
Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas – jointly
committed to placing 30 per cent of their nearshore marine resources and 20 per cent of their forest resources under
effective conservation by 2020.
• The University of the South Pacific – through its newly established Faculty of Islands and Oceans, has stated
the following goal: by 2010 at least 10 per cent of each graduating class will have been trained in successful
implementation of the goals and principles of the Global Island Partnership.
The Pacific region is blessed with its coral reefs, and their ecosystems and biodiversity. They are, however,
increasingly under threat from a mix of vulnerability to natural events and the impact of human development processes.
Reef management and conservation in small islands states in the region cannot be approached in the same way as in the
larger and more developed countries [12]. In the Pacific, the coral reef is a primary source of livelihood. It
constitutes a way of life. In some countries, changes to its utilisation and exploitation will necessarily involve
modifications of socio-cultural norms and practices. The challenge for resource owners and harvesters is to balance the
needs of today’s generation against the need to preserve some of the resources for future generations – their children
and grandchildren.
There is no simple answer. However, we know that we cannot hope to convince people to conserve or preserve their
resources without providing viable economic alternatives. For countries where the only resource is their sea, and within
that their coral reefs, there is no question of diversification. The question for them is rather what economic
activities, and what rate of harvest, will best guarantee economic returns for current generations, while at the same
time safeguarding the environment and coral reef ecosystems for future generations.
Various initiatives have been proposed: implementation of MPAs under the CRISP project [13] funded by France; integrated
coastal management; development of coral reef resources (aquarium trade, eco-tourism, active substances from marine
organisms); rehabilitation of coral reef ecosystems; a regional reef database; and the PROCFish-COFish project funded by
the EU [14] – a Pacific-wide study using socio-cultural tools and participatory methodology to assess the status and
future prospects of reef fisheries in the region. All these initiatives will help provide a platform for a more
sustainable approach to managing and conserving the biodiversity of coral reef ecosystems in the Pacific region into the
future.
For all of us, our fundamental responsibility is to collectively contribute to the well-being of people. To do this,
people must first understand the consequences, intended or otherwise, of their activities on the very environment upon
which they rely for their livelihood and sometimes survival – coral reef ecosystems.
We all have a duty of care to bring about positive change where we can, using the knowledge that we have accumulated
through scientific research and debate to further increase the commitment of current generations of people to do more to
provide for the future of their children and grandchildren.
I am sure that the last few days have raised as many questions as answers. You have had the opportunity to influence the
future direction of how we can best address the challenge of getting optimum, balanced benefits from the region’s coral
reefs. You have helped chart a course for the future.
It is my hope that this course will soon make an impact and become a catalyst for change, both for the benefit of people
who own or use coral reef resources, and for coral reef ecosystems in their own right.
To preserve our coral reefs, people have to be custodians as well as users. We all owe it to our future generations to
do our bit during our watch, so that we leave behind a legacy that we can all be proud of.
Finally, I would like once again to thank all the partners from within New Caledonia and around the globe who made this
event possible. A special thank you goes to the hard-working committees, interpreters, our host organisation the IRD,
and most of all, all delegates without whom this meeting would not have materialised.
I am sure that in the not too distant future, our common radar will bring us together again to check the progress we
have made since this meeting, so we will not only have talked, but will have moved to the next level of influencing
change to protect the biodiversity of our coral reef ecosystems and ensure a better and more sustainable future for our
people.
Ends