Something must be done! Or maybe not. In the wake of the massive human and environmental destruction caused by the 26 December tsunami in the Indian Ocean, the natural reaction is to try everything possible to put things right. But research commissioned by the World Bank suggests that when it comes to coral reefs, trying the opposite would be more effective.
Governments in the region are looking at engineering proposals to restore battered reefs, including re-cementing corals or constructing artificial concrete and wire reefs.
鈥淨uick fixes are being offered to governments, but these restoration projects are totally unproven,鈥� says marine biologist Alasdair Edwards, who chairs the World Bank鈥檚 Coral Restoration and Remediation Working Group. 鈥淐oral reefs have been subject to natural disasters for millions of years, and they have survived and adapted.鈥�
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Although reef damage was much less severe than damage on land, almost 20 per cent of 174 reef sites surveyed in Thailand by the Thai government were badly affected by the tsunami, with 13 per cent severely damaged. In most cases, the sediment, trees, cars and other debris sucked into the sea by the backwash after the first waves were most destructive. Cleaning this rubble would be worthwhile, says Edwards.
鈥淕overnments should concentrate their scant resources on reducing the other threats,鈥� such as pollution and dynamite fishing, says Craig Turner of the Coral Cay Conservation group in London.
