March 3 - Week 9
INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE CORAL REEF 1997

When: 9-15 March 1997 in Tamandaré, Brazil

Brazilian coral reef experts are organizing a March 1997 "Workshop on Brazilian Coral Reefs: Research, Integrated Management and Conservation", to develop an action plan which integrates aspects of research, integrated management and conservation for the Brazilian coral reefs. This action plan will be presented to the Brazilian government as part of Brazils contribution to the implementation of ICRI in 1997, the International Year of the Reef. It is being organized by "Corallus-Brazilian Society for Reef Studies" with the support of "Northeast Center for Fisheries Research and Extension - CEPENE".

The coral reefs of Brazil are distributed along approximately 3000 km of the coast. These reefs represent the only coral reefs in the whole south Atlantic region. Their isolated location has contributed to the formation of an unique fauna including a large proportion of endemic species which are to be found nowhere else in the world.

There is today no legislation or management plan to protect these reefs, outside limited protected areas, from current threats, such as over fishing, sediment runoff, pollution, etc.

Contacts:

Local contact: Dr Mauro Maida, Chairman of the Organizing Committee
Departamento de Oceanografia - UFPE
a/c CEPENE -IBAMA
Tamandaré - PE
CEP 55578- 000
BRAZIL
e-mail: mmaida@ibama.gov.br
Fax: (5581) 527 1090

Agneta Nilsson
Phone: 254-2-62 23 09
e-mail: Agneta.Nilsson@UNEP.org
Fax: 254-2-62 27 88, 62 27 98
Mailing adress: UNEP/Water Branch, P O Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Brazils coral reefs are distributed along approximately 3000 km of the Brazilian coast, from southern Bahia to Maranhão state in the north. The Brazilian reefs represent the only coral reefs in the whole south Atlantic region. They are isolated from the Carribean reefs by the great amount of silt-laden freshwater from the rivers Orinoco in Venezuela and Amazonas in Brazil, making it impossible for corals to survive in that area. In this way, the two rivers form a 2700 km wide barrier, effectively preventing the dispersal of reef organisms between the two regions.

Over time, the isolated location of the Brazilian reefs has contributed to the formation of a unique fauna. Though the number of coral species is relatively low compared to other parts of the world, a very large proportion is endemic. That is, they can be found nowhere else in the world. Of the eighteen species of hard corals in Brazil, ten are endemic to the country and two of the species are endemic to a restricted area in southern Bahia. This gives Brazilian coral reefs the highest proportion of endemic coral species in the world. Some of the endemic species (Favia leptophylla, Mussismilia hartti and M. braziliensis) show archaic characteristics, with similar species elsewhere in the world only found as coral fossils. This has led scientists to believe that these species have survived as relics in the Brazilian waters. Two new species of corals were described from Brazil during the 1980s (Muricea flamma and Plexaurella regia). Both are rather large and conspicuous corals, leading the scientists to believe that as research on corals in Brazil increases, further discoveries will be made and even more new species described.

These corals are the base of an ecosystem that is very productive and rich in species. It supports a high diversity of fish, which in turn supports the coastal fisheries, particularly for local communities. Many other organisms thrive in coral reefs: crustaceans, mollusks, algae, sponges, echinoderms, sea worms, all part of a weave of complicated, interdependent relationships, still little known.

The uniqueness and isolation of the Brazilian coral reefs make them more susceptible to changes in the environment. Should a species become locally extinct, there is only a very small chance, if any, that it could be replaced by recolonization from other areas. The threats posed to the Brazilian coral reefs are of anthrogenic origin and are likely to have started as early as the European colonization. In the last 500 years, the flow of sediment has increased significantly, given the increasing problem of erosion of coastal areas caused by the destruction of the Atlantic rain forest, first to make way for sugar cane plantations, then to allow timber exploitation. This erosion further increases with the cultivation of eucalyptus for industrial use. Unrestrained urban development in coastal areas pose another serious threat, both in terms of increasing erosion and as a source of pollution and untreated sewage.

The tourism industry poses both a threat and an opportunity for Brazilian coral reefs. If tourism is to increase and render Brazil additional income, it has to be managed wisely and cautiously. If this is done, tourism can be an additional way for coastal communities to utilize reefs in a sustainable and profitable way, spreading the joy and knowledge of coral reefs to people who would otherwise not have the possibility to enjoy them.

The reefs are a resource of great social and economical importance to Brazilian society, in terms of tourism, fishing, biologic diversity and coastal protection. But as pressures on reefs grow with increasing coastal populations, and the use of reefs become increasingly intensive, the need for management and protection is becoming urgent. There is today no specific legislation or integrated management plan to protect the reefs outside the borders of a few small marine protected areas, none of which are located immediately adjacent to the coastline.

In recognition of the serious decline of coral reefs globally, an International Coral Reef Initiative was founded in 1994 by eight nations in order to stop and reverse this trend. The partnership was formed to facilitate the work to protect the coral reefs, as many nations in different parts of the world face similar threats to their coral reefs and related ecosystems. ICRI calls for action to be implemented at a global and regional as well as a national level. At the Tropical Americas regional ICRI workshop in 1995, key principles for action in the region were identified. They include, among other things, the development of:

• integrated coastal management to incorporate human activities affecting coastal/marine and related terrestrial ecosystems
• information-based decision-making, consisting of systematic and scientific data gathering and wide accessibility and use of that information.