Coral Reef Conservation skillfully covers the complex issues involved in the protection of one of the world’s most threatened habitats. It originated from a Coral Reef Conservation Symposium and Workshop, organized by the editors and sponsored by the Zoological Society of London and the Fisheries Conservation Foundation in 2004. The book has three sections: Setting the Stage, Uses and Abuses: Ecological and Socioeconomic Issues, and The Way Forward.
The four chapters of Setting the Stage present coral reefs from different perspectives. The first, by Wilkinson, is taken largely from his report, Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2004, launched during the meeting. It provides a historical and regional review of the status of, and threats and stresses to, coral reefs worldwide, along with recommendations for future action to protect them. Using a palaeoecological approach, Precht & Aronson discuss the plausibility of different explanations (models and hypotheses) for the observed phase shift to macroalgal dominance on Caribbean coral reefs. Well written and thorough, it provides an extensive background on reef dynamics. In the third chapter, Mumby & Harborne offer a seascape-scale perspective, using remote sensing, modeling and processes to show that inter-habitat relationships among seagrass beds, mangroves, patch reefs and fore reefs are critical for fish communities, and argue convincingly that connected habitats as such need to be protected in unison to conserve their species. Cold water reefs tend to receive relatively little attention when compared to their tropical counterparts, but Corcoran & Hain, in the fourth chapter, provide an informative overview of their status and conservation.
Part two, on Uses and Abuses, examines a wide range of topics from sustainable fisheries, live food and non-food fisheries, to tourism and climate change. McClanahan aptly tackles sustainable reef fisheries and of particular note is the well researched summary (Table 5.1 pp. 150–151) of fish yields as reported in the literature among numerous localities in the Caribbean, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Vincent follows by exploring the use of coral reef wildlife for alternative, non-nutritive, human purposes, including the luxury live food trade. Although the use of marine wildlife for trade may have less impact than other human uses of reef resources, the author shows well that the direct and indirect impacts it has on targeted species and sites and on ecosystem functioning warrants urgent research, conservation and management. The non-extractive use of coral reefs through tourism is often offered as an alternative livelihood for fisher folk, while promoting the protection of coral reefs. Jobbins examines this precarious coexistence with a case study from South Sinai. Lastly, Sheppard addresses the longer term impacts of climate change. Using insightful graphs and schematics, often paired with illustrative photographs, his focus extends beyond bleaching to examine the consequences of coral morality.
With 10 chapters The Way Forward is the largest section. It opens with an essay by Côté and colleagues evaluating methods used to integrate existing datasets to assess long-term and large-scale patterns of ecological change, highlighting as such the power of meta-analysis. The next three chapters discuss ways to improve coral reef management. Wells assesses the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas, with case studies and lessons learned from her work in East Africa. Turner and colleagues cover environmental impact assessments on coral reefs, and advocate the integration of feedback monitoring to allow for reactive management. Spurgeon’s chapter calls for second- and third-generation economic approaches to improve coral reef management.
The critical role all stakeholders play in coral reef conservation cannot be understated, and is addressed in the subsequent three chapters. The first (Alcala et al.) reviews community-based efforts in the Philippines, and the second (Browning et al.) education as a tool for conservation. Brown then looks at the need to comprehend the governance system and institutional dynamics for successful conservation. Ways to restore damaged coral reefs are reviewed by Jaap and colleagues, who insist, however, that their work is no substitute for good stewardship. Following on, Roberts and his co-authors call for the development of more strategic regional approaches in the design of marine reserve networks so as to promote resilience to the numerous insults that humans devise. The final chapter by Knowlton is a short overview of coral reef research that stresses the importance of socioeconomics and the need for a better understanding of the abilities for humans to respond to the crises that coral reefs face.
As a coral reef ecologist and conservationist, I strongly recommend this book. The research, reviews and opinions of the 39 authors provide a solid review of the complex issues surrounding the conservation of coral reefs, whilst also exposing the reader to broad, diverse and thought-provoking discussions on the way forward. It allowed me to broaden my scope of understanding in a number of aspects, with the firm feeling that the information provided was fair, authoritative and comprehensive.
