Grimsditch, Gabriel D.

Although Bonaire’s coral reefs remain among the healthiest and most resilient in the Caribbean, this IUCN report based on the IUCN Resilience Assessment of Coral Reefs highlights some of the threats that exist to Bonaire’s coral reefs, and which could have serious implications for resilience to future climate change and other threats. The report identified recommendations for addressing the current threats, as well as high and low resilience sites.

Out of all the biological carbon (or green carbon) captured in the world, over half is captured by marine living organisms --- hence it is called "blue carbon". Although emissions reductions are currently at the centre of the climate change debate, the critical role that oceans and ocean ecosystems play has been vastly overlooked. The objective of this report is to highlight their essential function in maintaining our climate and to assist policy makers to mainstream an oceans agenda into national and international climate change initiatives.

This report focuses on the management of natural coastal carbon sinks. There is a lack of recognition and focus on coastal marine ecosystems to complement activities already well advanced on land to address the best practice management of carbon sinks. This report provides essential evidence needed to motivate discussions and initiatives on how coastal ecosystems should be incorporated into international and national emission reduction strategies, national greenhouse gas inventories and carbon revenue schemes.

The need for rapid methodologies for measuring coral reef resilience and their application in assessing the effectiveness of coral reef conservation management measures is becoming increasingly acute, especially in the developing world. It is therefore crucial to develop monitoring and assessment protocols to build an understanding of bleaching resistance and resilience indicators for application in management, and to determine how MPA management actions can influence resilience and resistance.

Vast changes in the seas are destroying the world’s precious coral reefs at an unprecedented rate and scale. Burgeoning populations, destructive fishing practices, coastal development, sedimentation from forest clearing and unsound agricultural practices, expanding tourism, and increasing pollution are the primary agents of human impact. Over the past decades, managers have largely focused on abating these critical proximate threats to coral reefs, however, during the past 15 years we have witnessed a major new threat to coral reefs—the threat of coral bleaching linked to global warming.