Activities by NGOs to conserve coral reefs facing large-scale coral bleaching

Abstract

Coral bleaching in the summer of 2016 caused serious damage in the Sakishima Islands. In response to this event, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Japan Coral Reef Conservation and Research Center confirmed the bleaching status around Ishigaki Island. In its role as a nongovernmental organization (NGO) working together with people in various fields to tackle environmental problems, WWF Japan conducted surveys of the sea conditions and attempted to disseminate this information. On Ishigaki Island, WWF Japan conducted a joint survey of the Shiraho and Yonehara reefs with researchers, using an unmanned aerial vehicle to determine the bleaching status from an aerial perspective. It also provided information on the state of coral bleaching to researchers to allow them to analyze its spread. In collaboration with marine business operators in the area, WWF Japan established a project to disseminate information about the coral bleaching around Ishigaki and Miyako islands, and participated in and supported efforts to report the nature of the bleaching. This project successfully shared information on the coral bleaching event with many business operators and disseminated this information throughout the summer of 2016. With the objective of conserving the Sekisei Lagoon coral reef ecosystem, WWF Japan has begun surveys and studies to establish a system of environmental certification that will facilitate the conservation of coral reefs in general and the Sekisei Lagoon coral reef ecosystem in particular. The findings recommend a sustainable environmental certification system for beef cattle production, sugarcane cultivation, pineapple cultivation, fisheries, tourism, etc., to allow the conservation and restoration of the coral reef ecosystem.