High Temporal Resolution Corals Monitoring System

IMRO PUBLICATION 2012

WORKSHOP

High Temporal Resolution Corals Monitoring System Bali, Indonesia, 11-12 October 2012

Editors Agus Setiawan Rochma Widia Lestari Camellia Kusuma Tito Eghbert Elvan Ampou

BATAN

WORKSHOP

High Temporal Resolution Corals Monitoring System Bali, Indonesia, 11-12 October 2012

INSTITUTE FOR MARINE RESEARCH AND OBSERVATION AGENCY FOR MARINE AND FISHERIES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY OF MARINE AFFAIRS AND FISHERIES BALI, 2012

IMRO PUBLICATION 2012

WORKSHOP

High Temporal Resolution Corals Monitoring System Bali, Indonesia, 11-12 October 2012

Editors: Agus Setiawan Rochma Widia Lestari Camellia Kusuma Tito Eghbert Elvan Ampou Cover design and photo: Suciadi Catur Nugroho Citation: Setiawan, A., R. W. Lestari, C. K. Tito, E. E. Ampou. 2012. High Temporal Resolution Corals Monitoring System. Institute for Marine Research and Observation, Bali, Indonesia. 15 pp.

ISBN: 978 – 602 – 17238 – 0 – 7

© IMRO, 2012

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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FOREWORD As all of us may be aware, Indonesia as an archipelagic country is blessed with high marine biodiversity and resources. Its marine and fisheries sector has great potential to be one of the leading sectors in the national economy with high competitiveness in the global stage. Guided by the national pro-growth, pro-poor, pro-job and pro-environment goals, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia has an objective to increase the welfare of fishers and stakeholders in marine and fisheries communities by implementing the blue economy concept. Through this concept, the natural resources are managed efficiently with low carbon emissions and zero waste, inline with the maintenance carrying capacity and the quality of marine and fisheries resources. As one of the world’s mega diversities,coral reefs ecosystem in the Indonesian waters servedthe coastal communities, either by proving renewable resources such as variety of reef dependent fishes, mollusks, seaweeds and other living resources and non-renewable ones such as coral rocks, gravels, sand and seashells. Changes in sea surface temperature due to global climate change has been known to causea widespread coral bleaching, while the increasing of carbon dioxide as the most significant greenhouse gaseshas also presenting a major role in coral degradation by enhancing the dissolution of calcium carbonate that may reduce the calcification rates and resulting in weakened skeletons and susceptibility to erosion of coral communities. Furthermore, the influence of regional and global scales phenomena such as El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) will also change the physical, chemical, and biological properties of marine environment that important for coral reefs ecosystem.These facts inform us that threat exposure due to local threats such as over- and destructive fishing, watershed-based pollution, coastal development and marine-based pollution and damage, threat exposure due to climate change is one of the challenging issues that should be taken into account to increase our understanding and adaptive capacity. Indonesia needs to establish corals monitoring system in order to monitor our coral reefs ecosystem and their dynamics as well as that can be used to support the management of coral reefs ecosystem.

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This workshop report provides information and recommendation to take timely action to address the coral reefs degradation issues due to local and global threatens. This cover the use of nuclear technology approaches as a high temporal resolution corals monitoring tool. This workshop highlighted the relevant methodologies to strengthen the scientific background for best management of coral reefs ecosystem in the Indonesian waters.

Prof. Dr. Rizald Max Rompas, M.Agr. Chairman of Agency for Marine and Fisheries Research and Development Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia

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WORKSHOP SUMMARY RECOMMENDATIONS Based on oral presentations from the experts and discussion among the participants, the outputs of the two days workshop were drawn up to form the summary findings and recommendations. As a mega diversity region for corals, the coral triangle (CT) region experiences some threats due to local and global factors. The most dominant local factors threat the CT region, especially in the Indonesian waters, are overfishing and destructive fishing, watershed-based pollution, coastal development, and marinebased pollution and damage. Based on report from World Resources Institute (2011), about 95% of coral reefs in CT region are currently threatened by a local pressure where 50% are in the high or very high category. Due to high social and economic dependency to coral reefs ecosystem, Indonesia needs to develop a coral reefs monitoring system to support its management.However, the monitoring activity is becoming a big challenge for Indonesia because of the wide area of coral ecosystem and the complexity of Indonesian seas characteristics. It needs both local and national efforts. As a country with high reef dependence and threat exposure and low adaptive capacity to reef degradation and loss, Indonesia has a big challenge to build adaptive capacity and reduce threats to reefs. These can be done in several ways such as reduce unsustainable fishing, manage coastal development, and build consensus and capacity. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries should be the main actor in implementing these agendas. Coral reefs ecosystems in the Indonesian waters today are facing multiple threats from many directions. Indonesian seas are influenced by regional and global scales phenomena such as El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Those phenomena will further influence the physical, chemical, and biological properties of marine environment that important for coral reefs ecosystem. On the other hand, over- and destructive fishing, watershedbased pollution, coastal development and marine-based pollution and damage are increased and significantly threaten the coral reefs ecosystem. These facts inform

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us that to monitor the coral reefs ecosystem and their dynamics, our understanding about the Indonesian seas dynamics and variability are very important. As an example, when we discuss about the coral bleaching, the mechanism of bleaching and also local and regional or global phenomena or factors related to this bleaching are not well known and inventoried yet in the CT region, especially in the Indonesian waters.Therefore, a cooperation activity among institutions is absolutely needed for the success of marine natural resources management. This success of course very important and can be used to motivate people to be concerned with coral reefs ecosystems and protect their sustainability. To be able to improve coral reefs ecosystem monitoring in Indonesian waters, beside periodical field measurements, the use of ocean remote sensing technology, numerical models as well as nuclear and isotope techniquesare proposed.

Through

this

comprehensive

observation,

the

influence

of

environmental changes to coral reefs ecosystems can be analyzed and studied both in the past, present and future times. With the results obtained by this comprehensive measurement, our understanding about the influence of global, regional and local environmental changes to coralreefs ecosystems will be improved and of course give significant contribution to the establishof plan of actions to support the management of coral reefs ecosystem in the CT region. Some suggestions have been recommended to investigate or study the climate change in Indonesiaby utilizing isotope techniques, i.e.: 1) Measure present day spatial and temporal pH variability to identify the progress of acidification and impacts of acidification on marine biodiversity by using 11/10-boron isotopes in corals and/or foraminifera; 2) Develop

more

accurate

circulation

models

by

measuring

validation

parameters, such as 14-carbon in seawater and corals cores for paleooceanography reconstructions; 3) Expand ocean observations to validate other datasets, ground truth satellite observations and verify heat-flux models by using 18/16-oxygen isotopes in corals;

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4) Identify/validate indicator species/critical groups through food web/trophic interaction models based on 13/12-carbon and 15/14-nitrogen isotopes in order to formulate the adaptation options for marine climate change, focus on conservation responses to increase resilience of marine biodiversity as well as adapting our businesses and practices; 5) Measure sediment accretion (e.g. using 210-lead dating) and /or subsidence rates to understand how tidal wetland fauna will respond to climate change. Remove artificial barriers such as seawalls, ditches and buildings to allow tidal wetlands to adapt naturally and allow migrate landward; 6) Reconstruction of climate variability (salinity, SST and pH) using Porites corals from somewhere between Java Sea, Flores Sea and south of Makassar Strait to investigate variation of Indonesia Throughflow (ITF); 7) Undertake studies to strengthen predictions of thresholds for coral-algal phase shifts and loss of ecosystem function under climate change;. Improve and maintain coastal water quality and healthy populations of herbivorous reef fishes to help sustain the resilience of coral reefs. Coral health surveys using Pulse Amplitude Modulated (PAM) Fluorescence Spectrometry are very useful for broad-scale analysis. Coral fluorescence surveys can identify bleachingresistant species and/or morphs. Transplantation of bleaching-resistant fluorescent corals may be a useful strategy for remediation and adaptation. Furthermore, some recommendations are also suggested for further actions, i.e.; 1) Reduce overfishing and maintain, restore and protect essential fish habitats such as seagrass beds, salt marshes, coral reefs and mangroves; 2) Identify the economic values of healthy coral reef ecosystems and subsistence options are essential for public acceptance of management options.

BACKGROUND TO THE WORKSHOP Institute for Marine Research and Observation (IMRO) is an institute under the Agency for Marine and Fisheries Research and Development (AMFRD), Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF), which work toward research and development of marine resources. This institute has 3 research groups, i.e. Ocean Remote Sensing, Ocean Modeling, and Climate Change. 3

As a research group works with marine resources and related climate change issues, the Climate Change Research Group has a main task to monitor the condition of coral reefs in the Coral Triangle (CT) regions as well as inventoried and analyzed the potential threatens and impact of climate change and environmental changes to this ecosystem. Since 2011,together with the Centre for Isotope and Radiation Technology Application, National Nuclear Energy Agency (PATIR BATAN) and supported by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), this research group has a 3 years technical cooperation title “Applying Nuclear Technologies to Enhance Climate Change Research and Support an Observation Plan for Corals”. Through this cooperation, this group is trying to utilize the use of isotope and nuclear technologies to support the monitoring of coral reefs ecosystem with high temporal resolution. This technique further will be combine with data from field surveys, ocean remote sensing, as well as numerical model results in order to understand the influence of climate change and environmental changes in the past, present, and future time periods and also the vulnerable level of coral reefs ecosystem. The workshop on high temporal corals monitoring system was therefore convened on 11-12 October 2012 in Bali, Indonesia. It was convened in collaboration with PATIR BATAN and IAEA. This workshop brought together 41 participants from several government and non-government organizations from Indonesia that have research and programactivities related to coral reefs and climate change. Through this workshop,materials about the condition of coral reefs ecosystem, the CT programs and policies, as well as research and monitoring activities are presented by invited experts and discussed among the participants.

PARTICIPANTS The 41 participants attending the workshop were delegated by government and non-government agencies for their involvement in coral reefs research and management and related policy development, implementation projects or programs related to coral reef monitoring:

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• Specifically invited speakers from IAEA presenting the utilization of high resolution monitoring of corals and nuclear isotope techniques to reconstruct environments

and

climate

change

and

practical

experiences

and

recommendations for future high temporal resolution corals monitoring system in Indonesia; • Specifically invited speakers from government research institutes and universities as well as non-governmental organizations presenting the current status and progress of Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) and corals monitoring system and management in the Indonesian waters, i.e. AMFRD, KP3K, LIPI, BATAN, ITB,UNHAS, TNC, CTC, Reef Check and Coral Alliance;

OPENING AND INTRODUCTION OF THE WORKSHOP Prof. Dr. Ngurah N. Wiadnyana, Director for Research and Development Centre for Marine and Fisheries Technology, AMFRD welcomed the participants and thanked BATAN and IAEA for their support in convening the workshop. He noted that as an archipelagic country blessed with high marine biodiversity and resources, marine and fisheries subsector in Indonesia has a great potential to become a leading sector for the national economy with high competitiveness in the global stage. Guided by the National pro-growth, pro-poor, pro-job and proenvironment goals, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia has an objective to increase the welfare of fishers and stakeholders in marine and fisheries communities by achieving a blue economy concept. With this concept, the natural resources are managed efficiently with low carbon emissions and zero waste, inline with the maintenance carrying capacity and the quality of marine and fisheries resources. Prof. Dr. Rizald Max Rompas, M.Agr., Chairman of AMFRD who opens the workshop, thanks the experts and participants for their attendance. He also thanks IAEA and BATAN for their supports to the workshop. He noted that small changes in sea surface temperature could have dramatic effects on the global climate, such as ocean circulation patterns, frequency of storm events and rising sea level. It can cause widespread coral bleaching and sea grass burning. Carbon dioxide as

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the most significant greenhouse gas, is also presenting a major role in coral degradation. Increased carbon dioxide concentrations in seawater enhance the dissolution of calcium carbonate. This may reduce the calcification rates and resulting in weakened skeletons and susceptibility to erosion of coral communities. Therefore, the risks and threats of marine ecosystem due to climate change need to be analyzed by establishing corals monitoring system.He does expect that all participants will have a productive and fruitful workshop and indeed give invaluable contribution to support the management of coral reefs ecosystem.

INTRODUCTION TO THE WORKSHOP AND ITS OBJECTIVES With more than 17,000 islands and length of coastal line of 104,000 km, Indonesia is one of the biggest archipelagic countries in the world. Those islands are mostly surrounded by coral reefs ecosystem with the area of coral reefs ecosystem in the Indonesian waters is about 51,000 km2, diversity of 581 species and economic benefits of USD 1.6 billion per year. The coral reefs ecosystem contributes to fisheries production of 3.6 million tones in 1997.However, Indonesia’s rich supplies of corals and reef fishes are endangered by destructive fishing practices. Cyanide and blast fishing are widespread throughout the archipelago even in the marine protected areas (MPAs). About 65% of surveys in the Maluku islands had evidence of bomb damage. Despite the short-term profits, studies have shown that the economic costs of blast and poison fishing are prodigious. Indonesian reefs are also subject to various pressures from inland activities as well as natural disasters. The average annual deforestation rate in Indonesia between 1985 and 1997 was 1.7 million hectares. Deforestation and other land-use changes have increased sediment discharge onto reefs, and pollution from industrial effluents, sewage, and fertilizer compounds the problem. The 1997-1998 El Niño events triggered widespread bleaching in Indonesia, with western and west-central Indonesia most affected. Bleaching was recorded in East Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Lombok. In Seribu Islands, north of Jakarta, around 90 to 95% of the coral reef from the reef flat down to 25-meter depth were died.

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Coral reef management in Indonesia to date has been hindered by a lack of data. In the past, coral reef data has tended to focus on a particular area, and relatively comprehensive data have tended to come from one-off surveys with no further or ongoing data collection. Comprehensive and on-going data collection is very much needed in order to identify trends in the coral reef ecosystem so that best management practices can be developed to ensure its long-term conservation. Based on the issues mentioned above, we recognize that the development of coral reefs monitoring system should be introduced and implemented in the Indonesian waters as soon as possible through an integrated program. Therefore, through this workshop some methodologies related to high temporal corals monitoring system were discussed. With several topics of discussion, hopefully our understanding on the importance of high temporal resolution corals monitoring system and its methodologies can be improved and implemented in the Indonesian waters. With more than 17,000 islands and length of coastal line of 104,000 km, Indonesia is one of the biggest archipelagic countries in the world. Those islands are mostly surrounded by coral reefs ecosystem. According to Veron and Stafford-Smith (2000) in Burke et al. (2002), the area of coral reefs ecosystem in the Indonesian waters is about 51,000 km2 with diversity of 581 species and economic benefits of USD 1.6 billion per year. The coral reefs ecosystem contributes to fisheries production of 3.6 million tones in 1997. However, Indonesia’s rich supplies of corals and reef fish are endangered by destructive fishing practices. Cyanide and blast fishing are widespread throughout the archipelago even in protected areas. Around 65% of surveys in the Maluku islands had evidence of bomb damage. Despite the short-term profits, studies have shown that the economic costs of blast and poison fishing are prodigious. Indonesian reefs are also subject to various pressures from inland activities. The average annual deforestation rate in Indonesia between 1985 and 1997 was 1.7 million hectares. Deforestation and other land-use changes have increased sediment discharge onto reefs, and pollution from industrial effluents, sewage, and fertilizer compounds the problem. The 1997-1998 El Niño events triggered 7

widespread bleaching in Indonesia, with western and west-central Indonesia most affected. Bleaching was recorded in East Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Lombok. In Seribu Islands, north of Jakarta, around 90 to 95% of the coral reef from the reef flat down to 25-meter depth were died (Burke, et al., 2002).

Coral Reef Monitoring Program in Indonesia Few specific management measures exist to protect coral reefs in Indonesia. Until 1999, no identifiable institution had oversight for the management of coastal resources. Owing to a lack of coordination and political upheavals, Indonesia is not achieving government management targets set in 1984. Originally, Indonesia had planned to have 85 marine protected areas (MPAs) covering 10 million hectares by 1990 and 50 million by 2000. However, until 2000 Indonesia had just 51 MPAs that include coral reefs ecosystem and covering an area of 6.2 million hectares (Burke, et al., 2002). Governance responsibility for Indonesian marine and coastal resources was given to the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in 1999. The government has also sponsored the Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Program (COREMAP), a 15-year initiative aimed at strengthening the management of the country’s coastal resources while considering the needs of coastal communities. However, to date, COREMAP has had only limited success. On a local scale, several NGOs have

had

success instituting collaborative

and

community management

frameworks. This bottom-up approach may become increasingly important as the Indonesian government continues to undergo decentralization. Coral reef management in Indonesia to date has been hindered by a lack of data. In the past, coral reef data has tended to focus on a particular area, and relatively comprehensive data have tended to come from one-off surveys with no further or ongoing data collection. Comprehensive and on-going data collection is very much needed in order to identify trends in the coral reef ecosystem so that best management practices can be developed to ensure its long-term conservation.

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Objective of the Workshop The purpose of this workshop is to discuss the importance of high temporal resolution corals monitoring system and some methodologies that can be implemented in the Indonesian waters to support the management of coral reefs ecosystem.

INTRODUCTION TO HIGH TEMPORAL CORALS MONITORING SYSTEM With diversity of 581 species and economic benefits of USD 1.6 billion per year, developing a coral monitoring system for Indonesian waters is essential, especially in the CT regions. In general, there are some methodologies and analysis that can be implemented to establish corals monitoring system in Indonesia, such as the utilization of oceanographic satellite data, the use of ocean numerical models to estimate the ocean dynamics and the biogeochemical processes, as well as the use of isotope and nuclear techniques to reconstruct the past environmental conditions. By combining those methods, our better understanding of dynamic nature of the ocean and its influences and roles to the coral reefs ecosystem can be improved, moreover when studying the climate change and related problems.

Identifying Area at Risk for Coral Bleaching by Utilized Satellite-derived SST Data Corals are highly sensitive to changes in temperature. When water is too warm, corals exhibit a stress response in which they lose the microscopic algae (zooxanthellae) that usually live within their tissues and causing the coral to turn completely white and called as coral bleaching. In general, coral can survive a bleaching event, but it depends on the duration of and level temperature stress. Based on laboratory experiment, Inoue et al. (2012) found that bleaching rate on Acroporadigitifera was significantly increased at SST above 31°C and threshold of bleaching likely exist between 29 and 31°C. Moreover, they found that skeletal growth was clearly reduced at SST above 31°C for symbiotic polyps. The most notable mass-bleaching event to date occurred in 1998, when wide areas of

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elevated water temperatures were recorded across many parts of the tropics, linked to strong El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event. Currently, sea surface temperature (SST) data available from oceanographic satellites have been utilized to develop NOAA Coral Reef Watch Satellite Bleaching Alert System. This system, which is firstly made available in 1997, provides a variety of products as well as list server message sent when SST models indicate that conditions are approaching or exceeding coral bleaching thermal thresholds for a given area. Their methodology for predicting coral bleaching is based on abnormally high and sustainable SSTs, measured in “degree heating weeks” (DHW), where one DHW is equal to one week of SST 1°C warmer than the historical average for the warmest month of the year (Burke et al., 2011). Several bleaching alert levels will be informed through this system based on DHW. For example, a DHW of 4 typically causes widespread coral bleaching and is referred to as a “Bleaching Alert Level 1”, while a DHW of 8 typically causes severe bleaching and some coral mortality, and is referred to as a “Bleaching Alert Level 2” (Strong et al., 2006).

Coral Reefs as Proxies for Climate Change Studies In relation to climate change study, the ability to interpret climatic behavior of the past is key to understanding Earth’s present and future climate variability. In order to extend the tropical ocean/climate records to pre-anthropogenic time, proxy records of climate or ocean properties must be used. Arguably, corals are the most promising tool for this purpose because they incorporate some elements or their isotopes into their carbonate skeletons in predictable concentrations, modified by physiological processes (Fairbanks, 1997). Corals are marine organisms and belong to the group of sea anemone. Corals precipitate their skeleton composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) skeleton (aragonite). The components of coral skeleton vary in response to the variations of ambient environments, such as sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity. Therefore, coral skeleton is an archive of environments and very useful to

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reconstruct marine environments and climate change in the past (paleooceanography/paleoclimate). Paleoclimatology, the study of past climate, is a rapidly developing field of study which has led to a growing demand for quantitative, high resolution, reconstructions of past conditions and has subsequently encouraged further research into proxies, methodologies and analysis techniques. Proxies are entities, often biological or geological, which have indirectly recorded information on past climate and are used to develop or extend records into times and places lacking adequate instrumental data (Mann et al., 2008). Usually, a coral species called Porites has been commonly used for the study of paleoclimate or paleo-oceanography because they have clear annual band created by the differences of skeletal density and reflecting the seasonal changes. The use of geochemical records in coral has proven a particularly insightful paleoclimate proxy in marine environments. The isotopic and elemental ratios, particularly Oxygen-18/16 (δ18O) and Strontium/Calcium (Sr/Ca) ratios, often exhibit close covariance with climatic parameters such as sea surface temperature, precipitation and ocean upwelling. Slope between temperature and δ18O and Sr/Ca, respectively, is almost same as inorganic one, and they have been used as thermometer. Where modern corals can be shown to align with recent climatic records, the longer-term climate can then be interpreted from older coral records and applied to understanding climate variability over time.

MEGADIVERSITY OF THE CORAL TRIANGLE AND POTENTIAL THREATS FROM GLOBAL AND LOCAL FACTORS Coral reefs in the coral triangle region cover an area of 75,000 km2, harbor more than 500 species of coral and more than 3000 species of fish. Thecoral triangle, also known as the Amazon of the seas, is the center for marine biodiversity on the planet. The coral reefs in this area is also the source of livelihood and food for more than 120 million people, supports one of the largest spawning areas, and is valued at US$2.3 billion annually. Coral reefs scientists have noted that Indonesia is the center of coral diversity. It was reported that 82 genera and about 590

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species of scleractinian corals have been recorded in the Indonesia and its surrounding waters (Best et al., 1989; Tomascik et al., 1997; Veron, 2002). According to World Resources Institute (WRI, 2011), approximately 95% of coral reefs in the CT regions are currently threatened by local pressure, i.e. over- and destructive fishing, watershed-based pollution, coastal development, and marinebased pollution and damage, where about 50% are in the high or very high category. Beside local pressure, there is also two significant global factors threat the coral reef ecosystem, i.e. thermal stressand ocean acidification. Suharsono (2009) reported that only about 5.56% of coral reef in Indonesia is in excellent condition, while 25.89%, 37.10%, and 31.45% are in good, fair, and bad conditions, respectively. Due to high or very high threat exposure and reef dependence and low or medium adaptive capacity, Indonesia is highly vulnerable to reef loss. There are some challenges for Indonesia to reduce its vulnerability to reef loss, i.e. reduce reef dependence, build adaptive capacity, and reduce threats to reefs. These tasks need national and local efforts, such as reduce unsustainable fishing, manage coastal development, and building consensus and capacity. In order to follow up the coral triangle initiative (CTI), Indonesia has established a National Plan of Action consists of 5 goals, i.e.: 1. Goal 1: priority seascape designated and effectively managed. Target of this goal during 2010 and 2014 are: a. six seascapes, i.e. Bird’s Head of Papua, Anambas – Natuna – Karimata (Bastunamata), Tomini Bay, Banda Sea, Halmahera Sea, and Lesser Sunda; and b. integration between the seascape program and the Indonesia Fisheries Management program at the same seascapes. 2. Goal 2: Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) applied. Target of this goal during 2010 and 2014 are: a. strong legislative, policy, and regulatory frameworks in place for achieving EAFM;

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b. improve income, livelihoods, and food security of an increasingly significant number of coastal communities across the region through the Sustainable

Coastal

Fisheries

and

Poverty

Reduction

Initiative

(COASTFISH); c. effective measures in place to help ensure sustainable exploitation of shared tuna stocks, with tuna spawning areas and juvenile growth stages adequately protected; and d. a more effective management and more sustainable trade in live reef fish and reef-based ornamentals achieved. 3. Goal 3: improving Marine Protected Area (MPA) management

by

implementing the region wide Coral Triangle MPA System (CTMPAS). Action of this goal during 2010 and 2014 are: a. establishing and strengthening the national strategy of MPA and transboundary MPA through collaboration with related neighboring countries, e.g. the Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME); b. improving the planning and management of MPAs to solve local and global threats; c. enabling policy and institutions for MPAs; and d. building institutional capacity for managing MPAs and ensuring sustainability of funds. 4. Goal 4: climate change adaptation by improving the conservation status of sharks, sea turtles, seabirds, marine mammals, corals, seagrass, and mangroves. Action of this goal during 2010 and 2014 are: a. region-wide early action climate adaptation plan for the near shore marine and coastal environment developed and implemented; and b. networked national centers of excellence on climate change adaptation for marine and coastal environments established and in full operation. 5. Goal 5: improving the conservation status of threatened species. Action of this goal during 2010 and 2014 are: a. conducting an assessment of sharks, sea turtles and cetaceans, and selected marine invertebrates and plants; b. strengthening the implementation of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) through management and scientific authorities; 13

c. implementation of the National Plan of Action for shark conservation and management and enforcement of Ministerial.

IMPLICATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON CORAL REEFS ECOSYSTEM In the case of coral growth, there are some possible environmental stresses, from global to local scale, influencing the coral reefs ecosystem, e.g. global warming, ocean acidification, freshening (heavy rain), eutrophication, sediment loading, and heavy metal pollution. According to De’ath et al. (2009), the coral growth has decreased suddenly since 1990. The causes of the decline remain unknown, however this study suggests that increasing temperature stress and a declining saturation state of seawater aragonite may be diminishing the ability of corals to deposit calcium carbonate (CaCO3). In general, the impact of global warming on coral reef is coral bleaching, a condition where coral-zooxanthellae symbiotic relationship was collapsed due to thermal stress. The prolonged bleaching results in coral death. However, detailed mechanism of bleaching has not been understood. On the other hand, increasing of anthropogenic CO2into the atmosphere will elevate the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in sea surface and decline of pH and carbonate ion concentration ([CO 32-]). This phenomenon furthermore declines the aragonite saturation state ( ) that important for organisms with calcification. Based on laboratory experiments for coral samples Acroporadigitifera conducted by Inoue et al. (2012), with parameter setting for global warming (increase of SST) and ocean acidification (increase of pCO2), it was found that the skeletal growth clearly reduced at SST above 31°C for symbiotic polyps, probably due to bleaching. Even for aposymbiotic polyps, growth rate was stopped or slightly decreased at higher SST. Meanwhile, significant impact was observed at pCO2 higher than 800 ppm for aposymbiotic polyps, while 1000 ppm for symbiotic polyps. Furthermore, if primary polyp cannot grow well, healthy adult coral would decrease, leading decline of healthiness of coral reef.

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OPPORTUNITIES TO ESTABLISH CORALS MONITORING SYSTEM BY UTILIZED RADIO ISOTOPE TECHNIQUES According to Chairman of National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN), currently nuclear technology in Indonesia has been applied for several applications such as agriculture, animal husbandry, food, health, environment, and natural resources. Furthermore he mentioned that there is an opportunity also to apply nuclear technology on marine and environment, especially using BATAN’s facilities. As already mentioned in previous section, in relation to marine research, especially studies related to climate change and ocean acidification, nuclear technology could be applied to analyze the stable isotopes. For example, to investigate the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP) as a main area of global heat and water circulation and its interaction with ENSO, IOD, and Asian monsoon, we can use dual proxy methods by combining δ18O and Sr/Ca to the corals samples in order to reconstruct SST and salinity as a key to understand the mechanism of global climate change. There is also a possibility to develop a pH proxy using corals samples to reconstruct historical change of seawater pH to investigate ocean acidification by measuring δ11B (Hönisch et al., 2004; Pelejero et al., 2005) or dual proxy method using U/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios (Inoue et al., 2011). Currently, several studies have been conducted by researchers from Indonesia to analyze past condition such as analysis of annual growth trend of Indonesian Porites and its correlation to SST (Suharsono and Cahyarini; Putri and Cahyarini, both studies are presented in the workshop) and reconstruction of salinity variation at the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) exit passage by measuring δ18O of Bunaken and Padang Bai corals (Putri and Cahyarini, presented in the workshop).

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ANNEX I – AGENDA OF THE WORKSHOP

A-1

A-2

ANNEX II – LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

A-3

A-4

A-5

A-6

A-7

A-8

Agency for Marine and Fisheries Research and Development Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Republic of Indonesia

International Atomic Energy Agency

National Nuclear Energy Agency Republic of Indonesia BATAN

Institute for Marine Research and Observation Jl. Baru Perancak, Negara, Jembrana, Bali Indonesia - 82251 Telp. +62 365 - 44266, 44267 Fax: +62 365 - 44270, 44278 www.bpol.litbang.kkp.go.id