NOAA's Reporter's Coral Reef Tip Sheet
July 14, 1997 - Week 28

The coastal zone is generally understood to be the place where the land meets the ocean, and by some definitions it includes significant marine and terrestrial areas. Because coral requires relatively shallow water, most of the coral reefs in the world are located in the coastal zone. In most regions of the world, the coastal zone is a heavily populated area. According to the United Nations, over half of the world’s population lives within 60 kilometers (37.5 miles) of the coast and this could rise to three quarters of the world’s population by the year 2020. Because the terrestrial portion of the coastal zone hosts such large human populations, it is also the focal point of various land-based human activities such as urban development, agriculture, manufacturing, energy production, tourism, aquaculture, mining, forestry, and transportation.

Although these land-based activities may seem far removed from the marine environment and coral reefs, each of these activities can have a detrimental impact on coral reefs. These land-based activities produce undesirable by-products which are ultimately transported into the marine environment via downstream water flow or atmospheric deposition. And each of these by-products contributes to the deterioration of delicate coral reefs.

On Nov. 3, 1995 the "Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities" was adopted in Washington, DC. The Global Programme of Action identifies nine categories of pollution, each of which could potentially impact coral reefs. The nine categories of pollution from land-based activities are: 1) sewage, 2) persistent organic pollutants, 3) radioactive substances, 4) heavy metals, 5) oils (hydrocarbons), 6) nutrients, 7) sediment, 8) litter, and 9) physical alterations and destruction of habitats.

Stay Tuned

Over the next few months we will focus on the effects of specific land-based activities on coral reefs.

Upcoming Event

Coastal Zone 97 (CZ97) "Charting the Future of Coastal Zone Management: The Next 25 Years," is taking place July 19-25, 1997 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, Mass.

CZ97, the 10th in a series of biennial international conferences, is the premier international symposium on coastal and ocean management. Begun in 1978, the Coastal Zone conferences provide a forum to examine the complex, multidisciplinary problems facing the world's coastal zones. In keeping with the permanent conference theme, "Spotlight on Solutions," CZ97 will seek to stimulate the identification and resolution of such problems.

A CZ97 session on coral reefs titled "Is This the Year We Save the Coral Reefs? A View of International Coral Reef Projects: From the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) to the International Year of the Reef (IYOR)" will be convened on Thursday, July 24, 1997, 2:00-3:40 PM.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE REEF PLEASE CONTACT:

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT COASTAL ZONE 97 (CZ97) OR THE CZ97 CORAL REEF SESSION PLEASE CONTACT: