| Capacity Building For Environmental
Assessment of
Tsunami
Effected Marine Habitats
Coral reefs, seagrass beds,
and mangrove forests are three of the most productive and important
shallow-water habitats in tropical oceans. Coral reefs occupy 21% of South Asian
coastlines. These habitats are high in biological diversity and serve as a
source of food and income for coastal communities throughout the Indo-Pacific
region. Many of the communities that rely on these habitats are poor, living at
a subsistence level. In addition, these habitats protect coastlines from erosion
and lessen the effects of waves generated by events such as the recent tsunami
and the regular cyclones which occur in this region.
Coral
reefs, seagrass beds, and mangrove forests are experiencing a number of threats
which result in their destruction or reduced productivity. In some cases the
threats are natural, but increasingly the threats are human in origin. Some of
the main threats include overfishing, physical destruction, and pollution. The
result of this is that these habitats are degraded, which ultimately results in
a loss of food and/or income for the coastal communities which depend upon these
habitats for their survival. These communities must spend greater and greater
efforts to sustain food and income. Many resort to destructive practices which
further degrade the environment resulting in a downward spiral of increasing
effort and decreasing returns. In addition, increasingly the poor are excluded
from using these habitats by wealthier businessmen who harvest specialty items
for lucrative foreign markets.
In October
2005, the Center for Applied Science and Indian NGO partner Institute for
Environmental Science and Social Education will travel to Goa so that three
Indian scientists can receive SCUBA training. These scientists will then learn
basic techniques in underwater ecological research. The final result of this
project will be the establishment of a reef research team in southwest India
committed to marine research which results in intelligent compassion for people
in complex situations.
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