The Economist USA - 26.10.2019

34 Asia The EconomistOctober 26th 2019

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ment in the ocean, clouding waters and

blocking needed light. Mavic Matillano,

who works in the Philippines for wwf, a

conservation group, worries particularly

about how reefs are being affected by road-

widening and other construction on Pala-

wan. Run-off from fertilisers and untreat-

ed sewage are other nasty problems with

which corals must contend.

At the same time, the world’s oceans are

warming. They have absorbed more than

90% of the extra heat produced by humans

in recent decades. Between 1985 and 2006

the waters of the Coral Triangle warmed at a

rate of 0.2oC per decade. That might not

sound like much, but as a rule of thumb

reefs bleach when the temperature of the

surrounding waters rises 1oC above the his-

torical norm for four or more weeks, turn-

ing colourful corals into ghostly forests.

The most recent global spate of bleach-

ing, in 2014-17, affected perhaps 70% of cor-

al reefs, according to America’s National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It was particularly severe because it coin-

cided in part with El Niño, a periodic cli-

mate pattern that warms equatorial waters

in the Pacific every few years. Even reefs

that had not experienced any recent exten-

sive bleaching, such as the northernmost

areas of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, suf-

fered badly. Severe bleaching is now occur-

ring too frequently for reefs to recover

fully. “We don’t know how well the biology

can continue to be culled and then bounce

back,” explains Gregory Asner of Arizona

State University. By the middle of the cen-

tury bleaching may occur every year.

Climate change threatens reefs in other

ways, too. The oceans have absorbed about

30% of the increased flows of carbon diox-

ide into the atmosphere, becoming less al-

kaline as they do so. This sets in motion

chemical reactions that make it harder for

the corals to build their exoskeletons. More

intense tropical storms, meanwhile, could

see reefs more frequently smashed; rising

sea levels could see them drowned.

Scientists, politicians and activists are

trying to tackle both the short-term and

long-term threats which corals face. The

thinking is that the local environment

makes a difference: corals that face fewer

local threats may have a better shot at sur-

viving larger changes to their environ-

ment. It helps that the number of marine

protected areas (mpas) around the world is

on the rise. Research suggests that coral

cover increases in older, well-enforced

mpas in isolated areas. mpas now encom-

pass 8% of the ocean, up from less than 1%

two decades ago.

Much of the increase is a result of Amer-

ica, France and Britain safeguarding areas

around their overseas territories. Coun-

tries such as the Cook Islands in the South

Pacific Ocean have protected their entire

national waters. The Coral Triangle Initia-

tive, an alliance of the six countries in the

area, has also promoted mpas. Yet only a

tiny share of its members’ waters is shield-

ed. The cost and complexity of patrolling

mpas remain a huge challenge.

In the Philippines a change to the law

more than two decades ago transferred

control of coastal waters up to 15km off-

shore to municipal governments. It gives

local communities a greater say in how to

manage marine resources. Ms Matillano

says that talking to mayors and other local

officials about the business case for pro-

tecting reefs works well, as does including

locals in the teams which enforce such pro-

tection. She adds that some 155 mpas exist

off Palawan, though not all are effective.

Wilfredo Licuanan of De La Salle University

in Manila, who studies Palawan’s reefs,

also estimates that only a tiny fraction of

coastal towns hire a marine biologist for

guidance. He gives talks in shopping malls

and at public events to educate Filipinos

about the plight of their corals.

Meanwhile scientists are racing to dis-

cover why some types of coral have recov-

ered from recent bleaching events better

than others. The answers may involve ad-

aptation (genetic processes) as well as ac-

climatisation (non-genetic ones). The in-

tricate work requires data that can be

difficult to obtain from areas which lack

adequate monitoring. There are big know-

ledge gaps when it comes to the Coral Tri-

angle, for example.

Teams in America are looking into se-

lectively breeding and conditioning corals,

and expensive coral “gardening” occurs in

places that can afford it. This involves

transplanting corals to reefs in need, often

by placing them on man-made underwater

structures on which they can grow. In one

area near Taytay, corals cling to sturdy met-

al frames, and a garden for giant clams has

been established.

Another way forward could be to identi-

fy the most resilient sorts of coral in spots

that are most sheltered from changing

ocean temperatures and other human

harm. That could allow more careful tar-

geting of resources. Work published last

year in Conservation Letters by a team led by

Hawthorne Beyer of the University of

Queensland finds that reefs in parts of the

Philippines and Indonesia and off eastern

Australia, among other places, may face a

less severe threat than those in Hawaii and

off western Australia. That is a small spot of

good news for Black Rock Reef. 7

Coral Triangle

Ta y t a y

Coral reefs

I

ngratitude, misbehaviourand disloy-

alty. These were among the failings of Si-

neenat Wongvajirapakdi detailed in a royal

statement on October 21st. Apparently the

mistress of King Maha Vajiralongkorn

wanted to “elevate herself to the same state

as the queen”. The former army nurse also

dared to issue commands and show dis-

obedience to her superiors. She has been

stripped of all titles and honours.

At one level, Ms Sineenat’s sudden fall

from grace is stunning. It was only on the

king’s birthday in July that he made her

Thailand’s first officially designated royal

mistress in almost a century. At another

level, it is typical: the king has frequent,

dramatic romantic bust-ups, with dire

consequences for the women concerned.

The designation of an official “royal no-

ble consort” shocked Thailand. The elabo-

rate ceremony saw Ms Sineenat prostrate

herself before the king and Queen Suthida

Tidjai, a former flight-attendant whom he

married in May. The silk and jewels on dis-

play were a far cry from the crop tops and

fake tattoos that king and consort have

been snapped wearing before. More official

photographs of Ms Sineenat in camouflage

and in cockpits appeared in August. The

SINGAPORE

King Vajiralongkorn quickly dismisses

his official mistress

Thailand’s ruthless king

Beauty and the

beast