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/