What is the problem of Tubbataha Reef?

What is the problem of Tubbataha Reef?

2020 Conservation Outlook The conservation outlook for Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, a no-take reserve that comprises 78% of the no-take area of the Philippines, is positive.

What happened to Tubbataha?

The USS Guardian minesweeper ran aground on the Tubbataha Reef, a Unesco World Heritage Site, in January 2013. It caused damage to more than 2,345 sq m (25,240 sq ft) of coral. The ship was eventually dismantled to avoid causing further damage.

Is the Tubbataha Reef endangered?

The Park is an exceptionally healthy reef ecosystem and its strong no-take level protections ensure this biodiversity stays safe. Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is an important asset for global conservation, as 181 of the species found there are threatened to some degree, from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered.

What are the current issues affecting the Philippine coral reefs?

Some 98 percent of Philippine reefs are classified as threatened, with 70 percent at high or very high risk. Unsustainable practices such as blast fishing and cyanide fishing are thought to be the largest contributors to reef degradation. Climate change is increasing both the temperature and the acidity of the ocean.

How was the Tubbataha Reef formed?

According to the theory by Charles Darwin, atoll formation begins when a volcanic eruption gives birth to an island. So, it is believed that the atolls of Tubbataha began to form thousands of years ago as fringing reefs around volcanic islands.

How is the Tubbataha Reef protected?

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is legally protected through national protected areas legislation and a range of other environmental legislation which enable action to be taken against a wide range of threats.

Where is the Tubbataha Reef?

Palawan
Tubbataha reef lies in the middle of the Sulu Sea, approximately 50km southeast of Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, the most western province of the Philippines.

What are the effects of coral reef degradation?

As the coral reefs die, coastlines become more susceptible to damage and flooding from storms, hurricanes, and cyclones. Without the coral reefs the ocean will not be able to absorb as much carbon dioxide, leaving more CO2 in the atmosphere.

What are the causes of problems confronting the Philippine coral ecosystem?

The World Atlas of Coral Reefs, compiled by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), reported that 97 percent of reefs in the Philippines are under threat from destructive fishing techniques, including cyanide poisoning, over-fishing, or from deforestation and urbanization that result in harmful sediment spilling …

Why is the Tubbataha Reef important?

The Tubbataha Reef is an important habitat sustaining a high diversity of marine life providing the Sulu Sea and eastern coastline of Palawan with fish and invertebrate larvae. In the late 1980s exploitative fishing and the use of massively destructive fishing methods threatened the ecosystem.

Where is Tubbataha Reef?

When did coral reef degradation started?

People first noticed coral bleaching events in the 1980s. The problem intensified in 2016, when an El Niño weather pattern, which causes warmer waters in the Pacific Ocean, mixed with an already unseasonably warm ocean and killed off a third of the corals on the Great Barrier Reef.