Atlas Shows Coral Reefs Shrinking Fast

 

By Rosanne Skirble

Coral reefs are home to the greatest diversity of plant and animal life found in any habitat, anywhere on the earth. But, while they are found in 101 countries and territories, the new Atlas¹ shows coral reefs occupy a smaller part of the planet than previously² thought, one tenth of one percent of the oceans. That's an area about half the size of France.

"This of course makes their importance even more crucial, disproportionately valuable as ecosystems³," that's Mark Spalding, Senior Marine⁴ Ecologist with the United Nations Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Center, the organization that produced the Atlas. He says reefs are a vital natural resource that support fisheries, protect coastal⁵ areas and provide economic sustenance⁶ to coastal communities.

He continued, "We've got literally⁷ hundreds and millions of people from some of the world's poorest countries depending on reefs as a source of food, employment and income. Those people need reefs, but as the coastal populations are growing ,so those people are over using and badly hurting the reefs and badly hurting themselves and their communities and destroying the future."

The new Atlas finds that pollution, overfishing, poor agricultural practices, sediment⁸ from deforestation and irresponsible tourism are largely to blame.

Mark Spalding says climate change is also playing a role in the rapid decline of coral reefs around the globe. "In 1998 the world was swept over by one of the world's largest 'El Nino' events, and there is believe that the 'El Nino' event was exacerbated⁹ by climate change which has already taken place," he says. "It appears that coral reefs are the most sensitive of all ecosystems to even minor¹⁰ changes in temperature. And, in 1998 great [areas] of reef were decimated by warm temperatures, just one or two degrees above the normal maximum."

Rosanne Skirble: "What recommendation would you have for someone who cares about these issues? "

Mark Spaulding: "Educate yourself. Educate your community and communicate the message to others. We have to hit this at all sorts of levels. If you are a diver from a western nation then [you should] be concerned about not just about going on a good holiday, but [about] going somewhere that is not damaging the local reefs. If you are a local fisherman or a local politician try to find out more about these means of sustainable use of reefs which will lead to economic and social benefits in a very short term."

The World Atlas of Coral Reefs includes detailed¹¹ maps of all the world's coral reef nations with the first ever estimates of reef area for individual countries. It has pictures of reefs, reef animals and images taken from space by NASA space shuttle astronauts.

Mark Spalding hopes the Atlas will have a broad range of uses. He said, "I hope that local populations, local communities might be able to use a book like this not only to learn about their own situation, but to learn about situations in other areas and perhaps learn from some the successes and failures of other areas. I would apply almost the same set of ideas at a higher level to politicians, decision-makers and managers. They can use the Atlas as a tool to learn about management systems, to learn about the diversity and distribution of coral reefs and to learn once again from the successes and failures of other areas."

The Atlas also provides hundreds of maps of marine protected areas that incorporate coral reefs. Lead author Mark Spalding says in the places where sustainable management practices are enforced nations are reaping enormous benefits, not only for the ecosystems, but also for the local economy through tourism, marine recreation, export fisheries and emerging industries such as pharmaceuticals¹².

I am Rosanne Skirble.

注释：
habitat 栖息地
territory 地域
ecosystem 生态系统
fishery 水产业
sustenance 支持
sediment 沉淀物
El Nino 厄尔尼诺
exacerbate 加剧
World Atlas of Coral Reefs《世界珊瑚地图集》
diversity 不同
distribution 分类
pharmaceutical 药物

1 atlas   

n.地图册，图表集

参考例句：

• He reached down the atlas from the top shelf.他从书架顶层取下地图集。
• The atlas contains forty maps,including three of Great Britain.这本地图集有40幅地图，其中包括3幅英国地图。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

6 sustenance   

n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• The urban homeless are often in desperate need of sustenance.城市里无家可归的人极其需要食物来维持生命。

7 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

8 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

9 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

11 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

12 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》