Caribbean - Dying coral reefs demand Caribbean takes new approaches
Severe bleaching and the decline in the number of corals are posing a major threat to the Caribbean.
At the start of summer, the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) declared the entire region was under coral bleaching watch or warning, due to the warmer temperatures.
For the four-month period of June to September, CIMH predicted “there is high probability Coral Bleaching Heat Stress will reach and exceed Alert Levels One and Two for most of the Caribbean”.
Dr Adelle Thomas, researcher and vice chair on Working Group II at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says the natural habitat and protector of the shorelines could soon be extinct due to climate change.
Thomas was speaking on Monday at the Climate Change and Paris Agreement Alignment Media Workshop hosted by the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) at the headquarters, when she reiterated the global call of "1.5 to stay alive".
"We already have seen coral bleaching but we can expect if we get to 1.5 degrees Celsius that we will see a loss of 70 to 90 per cent of our corals. If we get to 2 degrees Celsius or higher, then 99 per cent of our coral is being lost and that is absolutely devastating and again affects the habitability of our islands," said the IPCC vice chair.
The researcher identified that small island developing states (SIDS) in the region are trailing behind their Pacific Island peers in adaptation and response to the impacts of climate change.
She indicated that natural solutions such as coral reef restoration and the planting of mangroves will soon be inapplicable or unhelpful to a deteriorating problem.
"Even if we adapt there are still going to be loss and damage to those impacts of climate change. Above 1.5 degrees Celsius, some natural solutions may no longer work - so things like planting mangroves, [and] coral reef restoration are not going to be feasible. So we are going to have to work on different ways...
"To avoid mounting losses, we need urgent action to adapt to climate change," Thomas continued.
Senior climate change specialist of the IDB, Jennifer Doherty-Bigara, while speaking on climate change and poverty reduction supported Thomas' sentiments.
"Coral reefs are bleaching so fast in Barbados, that the solution they would have brought are no longer viable," she told reporters.
