Essay (First Draft)

Thesis: Because divers are responsible for the depletion of corals in the Great Barrier Reef, the Australia government should provide adequate education to divers and sufficient funds in supporting the preservation of corals, thereby preventing the loss of coral diversity.

Introduction:

Globalization has become a driving force to many industries. Ecotourism being one of the fastest-growing sectors has benefited from it. Globalization plays a major role in facilitating the cross-border interaction between countries. Through globalization, people can travel more accessibly across different countries to participate in ecotourism adventures such as diving and snorkelling. Chamy (2012) highlights that as much as ecotourism needs globalization to grow, it is due to ecotourism that globalization has become such an important aspect of interaction across geographic spaces (Chamy, 2012). Diving has become one of the few popular ecotourism adventures. However, diving has caused deterioration of the coral reefs. Other negative impacts include the extinction of species and pollution. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is an example of rapid depletion of coral reefs.

Because divers are responsible for the depletion of corals in the Great Barrier Reef, the Australia government should provide adequate education to divers and sufficient funds in supporting the preservation of corals, thereby preventing the loss of coral diversity. Collaborative efforts among the divers, governments and non-profit organizations are needed to reduce the negative impacts on the corals. 

a) Description of a situation

There is an increase in the number of divers as more people want to enjoy the beauty of the reef and the thrill of discovering the underwater world. Each year more than 1.8 million tourists have visited the Great Barrier Reef. Butler mentioned that large amount of revenues are generated from popular ecotourism adventures like diving and snorkelling (Butler, 2005). Therefore, countries like Australia has been promoting and investing in ecotourism activities like diving, attempting to boost their financial reserves. However, scientific evidence have shown that the Great Barrier Reef has lost half of its coral cover in the last 27 years, and 95% of its living coral could be lost by 2050 (Butler, 2005). Undeniably, divers are partially responsible for the damage of the coral reefs.

b)  Identification of a problem

Loss of coral diversity

The increase amount of divers have caused a rapid disruption of ecological life systems. Some divers kick, grab and break corals as they swim. Divers who unintentionally touch the corals may also damage the corals, causing it to have difficulty in recovering. Some divers may even remove beautiful corals from the sea bed, which ultimately kill the corals. Butler (2005) convincingly argues that if the breaking down of coral reefs continues, it would result in permanent loss of marine ecosystem and its biodiversity (Butler, 2005). In addition, the frenzied kicking from divers’ fins can hurt corals.

Extinction of species

Experiments have proven that repeated breakage of corals caused by intensive diving tourism, may lead to substantially reduced sexual reproduction in corals, and eventually lower rates of re-colonisation (Pilcher, 2012). If damaged corals are not given enough time to recover, it may eventually lead to extinction of corals and other species. Depletion of corals will in turn affect the species that depends on them. For instance, the fishes that depend on corals for food and habitat.

Pollution

Divers may have to take transports such as boats to their destination, which generates more carbon emissions and worsens global warming. Litters thrown by divers and ship fuels can cause water pollution, which contributes to coral reef degradation.

Negative impact on locals
The loss of coral ecosystems will also affect the indigenous natives who depend on them for food, job and income. Butler (2012) further convincingly argues that more than 500 million people who live within 100 kilometres of coral reefs, many of whom rely on reefs and services they provide for daily subsistence (Butler, 2005). Therefore, divers who are involved in ecotourism adventures may indirectly affect the standards of living of the locals.

c) Description of a solution
Government support

Charging diving fees at certain dive sites may be useful in controlling the number of divers visiting Great Barrier Reef. The money generated from diving fees can be used to conserve the corals. Government can also support by providing sufficient funds for the purchase of permanent buoys. Pilcher (2012) mentioned that the installation of permanent buoys can reduce the damage of coral reef from recreational activities (Pilcher, 2012). 

Limit the number of divers
Australian government can limit on the number of divers allowed in a dive site at one time. This can ensure that corals are given enough time to recover. Research have shown that when human disturbances are reduced, reefs might do much of the recovery by themselves (Watts, 2013). 

Environmental education
To prevent the depletion of corals, government can educate the divers by encouraging respectful attitudes for coral-friendly diving. Divers should be reminded to avoid walking near corals as sediment may be stirred up and cover the corals, which may cause corals death. Divers must remember the maximum limit of interacting with corals and do not remove them from the sea.

Diver who are properly trained tend to be reef-friendly, thereby reducing the negative impacts on the corals. Lonne (2012) highlights that proper buoyancy control and movement underwater are requirements for being a reef-friendly diver (Lonne, 2012).

Non-profit organization
Public should be encouraged to support non-profit organization such as Coral Reef Alliance and Reef Relief. Currently, the non-profit organization are helping in managing the marine ecosystem. They also promote local communities to become passionate environmental stewards for the reefs.

d) Evaluation of the solution

It is of paramount importance to increase the divers’ awareness towards corals conservation. Effective marine protection needs collaborative efforts among government agencies, conservation groups, non-profit organizations and the public. As a whole, collective efforts will yield greater results than individual efforts. Therefore, divers can still enjoy diving while sparing a thought for the marine environment. 

References

Butler, R. (2005, November 17). Coral reefs decimated by 2050. Retrieved October 2, 2013, from Mongabay: http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1117-corals.html

Chamy, A. (2012). Globalization and the paradox of ecotourism. Accessible Sustainable Ecotourism: Necessary Market Adjustment in a New Age of Travel, 2. Retrieved October 4, 2013, from: http://www.ecotourdirectory.com/ecotourism/articles/globalization-and-the-paradox-of-ecotourism.php

Lonne, T. (2012). A scuba diver’s impact on a coral reef. Retrieved October 4, 2013, from Dive.in: http://www.dive.in/articles/a-scuba-divers-impact-on-a-coral-reef/#comments

Pilcher, N. (2012). Corals and human disturbance. Retrieved October 2, 2013, from UNEP: http://www.unep.ch/regionalseas/main/persga/pilcher.html

Watts, A. (2013, April 7). Good news about coral reefs- they recovered from warming. Retrieved October 4, 2013, from Watts up with that: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/04/07/good-news-about-coral-reefs-they-recovered-from-warming/