Percepción comunitaria sobre arrecifes coralinos en Golfo Dulce: bases para integración social en programas de restauración

Introducción: Enfrentar la acelerada degradación de arrecifes coralinos requiere una acción integrada en múltiples niveles sociales y ecológicos. A escala local se debe incluir la participación activa de los usuarios de los recursos. Objetivo: evaluar el conocimiento y percepción local sobre los arrecifes coralinos en Golfo Dulce, y así generar bases para la integración social en la restauración coralina. Métodos: se realizaron 183 entrevistas en siete comunidades costeras del Golfo Dulce entre septiembre del 2016 y marzo del 2017. Los entrevistados se clasificaron en: (1) Pesca artesanal (PA) = 57 entrevistados, (2) Turismo (T) = 62, y (3) Otros (O) = 64. La primera parte de la entrevista fue de conocimiento y se asignó una nota basada en respuestas correctas. Según la nota se clasificó como informado, información media o desinformado. La segunda parte se basó en escalas de percepción sobre: (I) visitación, (II) factores que dañan los arrecifes coralinos, (III) medidas de manejo y (IV) salud de recursos marinos en Golfo Dulce. Resultados: El grupo T tuvo el mayor porcentaje de entrevistados informados = 42 % y el grupo O de desinformados = 37 %. La segunda parte fue percepción, más del 50 % de PA y T consideran que la visita es frecuente. La sedimentación y contaminación por agroquímicos fueron identificados por más del 60 % de PA y T como la principal amenaza. El 35 % de PA y el 40 % de T perciben las boyas fijas como la mejor medida para el Golfo Dulce. La restricción de visitas fue la medida con menor aceptación. El 60 % de los entrevistados de PA y T consideran que los recursos marinos del golfo estarán peor que en la actualidad. Conclusiones: Estos resultados confirman la importancia de comprender el conocimiento y la percepción de los usuarios de los arrecifes de coral en los procesos participativos y educativos en la restauración y conservación de los arrecifes de coral.

Introduction: Addressing the accelerated coral reefs degradation requires integrated action at multiple social and ecological scales. At local level, active participation of the main users must be included. Objective: To evaluate local knowledge and perception about coral reefs in Golfo Dulce to generate bases for social integration in coral restoration. Methods: 183 interviews were conducted in coastal communities in Golfo Dulce, between September 2016 and March 2017. The interviewees were classified as: (1) Artisanal fishing (PA) = 57 interviewees, (2) Tourism (T) = 62, and (3) Others (O) = 64. The first part of the interview was about knowledge and a grade was assigned based on correct answers. According to the grade, they were classified as informed, medium information or uninformed. The second part was based on perception scales on: (I) visitation, (II) factors that damage coral reefs, (III) management measures, and (IV) health of marine resources in Golfo Dulce. Results: Group T had the highest percentage of informed interviewees = 42 % and group O uninformed = 37 %. The second part was perception, more than 50 % of PA and T consider that the visit is frequent. Sedimentation and contamination by agrochemicals were identified by more than 60 % of PA and T as the main threat. 35 % of PA and 40 % of T perceive permanent buoys as the best measure for the Golfo Dulce. The visitation restriction was the measure with the least acceptance. 60 % of the interviewees of PA and T consider that the marine resources of the gulf will be worse than today. Conclusions: These results confirm the importance of understading coral reefs users knowledge and perception in participatory and educational processes in coral reef restoration and conservation.

Cold water and harmful algal blooms linked to coral reef collapse in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

Background: With conventional coral reef conservation methods proving ineffective against intensifying climate change, efforts have focussed on augmenting coral tolerance to warmer water-the primary driver of coral declines. We document coral cover and composition in relation to sea surface temperature (SST) over 25-years, of six marginal reefs in an upwelling area of Costa Rica's Eastern Tropical Pacific. Methods: Using reef survey data and sea surface temperature (SST) dating back over 25-years, we document coral cover and composition of six marginal reefs in an upwelling area of Costa Rica's Eastern Tropical Pacific in relation to thermal highs and lows. Results: A ubiquitous and catastrophic coral die-off event occurred in 2009, driven by SST minima and likely by the presence of extreme harmful algal blooms. Coral cover was dramatically reduced and coral composition shifted from dominant branching Pocillopora to massive Pavona, Porites, and Gardineroseris. The lack of coral recovery in the decade since indicates a breach in ecosystem tipping-point and highlights a need for resilience-based management (RBM) and restoration. We propose a locally tailored and globally scalable approach to coral reef declines that is founded in RBM and informed by coral health dynamics.

Coral reef restoration efforts in Latin American countries and territories.

Coral reefs worldwide are degrading due to climate change, overfishing, pollution, coastal development, coral bleaching, and diseases. In areas where the natural recovery of an ecosystem is negligible or protection through management interventions insufficient, active restoration becomes critical. The Reef Futures symposium in 2018 brought together over 400 reef restoration experts, businesses, and civil organizations, and galvanized them to save coral reefs through restoration or identify alternative solutions. The symposium highlighted that solutions and discoveries from long-term and ongoing coral reef restoration projects in Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean and Eastern Tropical Pacific were not well known internationally. Therefore, a meeting of scientists and practitioners working in these locations was held to compile the data on the extent of coral reef restoration efforts, advances and challenges. Here, we present unpublished data from 12 coral reef restoration case studies from five Latin American countries, describe their motivations and techniques used, and provide estimates on total annual project cost per unit area of reef intervened, spatial extent as well as project duration. We found that most projects used direct transplantation, the coral gardening method, micro-fragmentation or larval propagation, and aimed to optimize or scale-up restoration approaches (51%) or provide alternative, sustainable livelihood opportunities (15%) followed by promoting coral reef conservation stewardship and re-establishing a self-sustaining, functioning reef ecosystems (both 13%). Reasons for restoring coral reefs were mainly biotic and experimental (both 42%), followed by idealistic and pragmatic motivations (both 8%). The median annual total cost from all projects was $93,000 USD (range: $10,000 USD-$331,802 USD) (2018 dollars) and intervened a median spatial area of 1 ha (range: 0.06 ha-8.39 ha). The median project duration was 3 years; however, projects have lasted up to 17 years. Project feasibility was high with a median of 0.7 (range: 0.5-0.8). This study closes the knowledge gap between academia and practitioners and overcomes the language barrier by providing the first comprehensive compilation of data from ongoing coral reef restoration efforts in Latin America.