*Famous Caymans coral reefs dead and dying, scientists say*

06 May 2007 15:03:48 GMT
Source: Reuters

By Shurna Robbins

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, May 6 (Reuters) - To coral reef-driven
tourism industries like those of the Cayman Islands, there could be a
greater cost in ignoring climate change than fighting it.

Ranked among the top 10 scuba diving destinations in the world, the reef
system of the western Caribbean territory has lost 50 percent of its
hard corals in the last 10 years in spite of strong environmental laws,
scientists say.

"We are at a very critical time in the history of coral reefs," said
Carrie Manfrino, president of the Central Caribbean Marine Institute on
Little Cayman island.

"It is like working with a sick patient. How well we treat that patient
will determine if that patient survives. We could potentially see the
end of hard coral reefs in our lifetime."

The Caymans tourism industry, which represents about 50 percent of the
colony's gross domestic product, was kick-started in 1957 when dive
industry pioneer Bob Soto opened the first scuba diving operation in the
Caribbean.

Fifty years later, about 2 million visitors arrive every year, with most
either diving or snorkeling on famous sites like the North Wall or
Stingray City.

The sport helped transform a sleepy territory of 8,500 people subsisting
on fishing and seafaring into a luxury tourism destination and
sophisticated offshore banking center whose 52,000 people have the
highest per capita income in the region.

A U.N. panel -- the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -- has
warned that the world must make sweeping cuts in greenhouse gas
emissions to avoid a rise in temperatures that could inundate islands
and coastlines under rising seas, and kill off the world's
temperature-sensitive coral reefs.

In a report issued on Friday, the IPCC said keeping the increase in
temperatures within 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) would only cost
0.12 percent of the world's annual gross domestic product.

To Cayman residents who depend on tourism, that would be a small
investment if it were enough to save the coral reefs.

Global warming is heating sea water, which leads to coral bleaching, an
ailment that causes normally colorful corals to turn white, and white
plague, a disease sweeping and killing coral around the world.

PROTECTING THE REEFS

Another threat in the Caymans comes from cruise ships, which have
damaged large areas of living coral with their anchors and chains, said
Gina Ebanks-Petrie, director of the Cayman Islands Department of the
Environment.

Yet cruise ships are an important and growing part of the Caymans'
tourism industry. Thirty-six percent of tourist revenue comes from 1.7
million cruise ship passengers who visit each year, and more ships are
making the islands a port of call.

Even with a 50 percent decline in hard corals, Caymans' reefs are still
considered among the healthiest in the Atlantic. Scientists say the
islands are geographically isolated by surrounding water 6,000 feet
(1,830 metres) deep, which minimizes the impact of pollution from other
countries.

The Marine Conservation Law passed in 1986 established the marine park
system and has played a key role in protecting Caymans' reefs. But
Ebanks-Petrie said it has struggled to adapt to rapidly changing
environmental conditions.

The dive industry worries that without a coral reef, the Cayman Islands
will not have anything different to offer tourists than the rest of the
Caribbean.

"If the coral reef dies, the algae will go, and the tropical fish will
go. Then there will be nothing left to see," says Nancy Easterbrook,
operator of Divetech.

Manfrino said hope is not lost.

"We can't give up," she said. "Science is always coming up with major
discoveries, so we may find a way to save our reefs."