In the 'Coral Triangle,' a 'Compounding Problem'

Southeast Asia's coral reefs make up more than a third of the world's supply and are part of the "Coral Triangle," a richly biodiverse marine area that generally stretches from the Philippines to Indonesia to the Solomon Islands. But most of these are now at risk of being destroyed, especially in Vietnam, where only 1% of that nation's reefs are still healthy—and in those cases, it's only because of their remoteness, per the World Resources Institute.

• A bad time: Reefs worldwide are at risk from warmer and more acidic waters that weaken them and result in bleaching, as they've expelled the algae that helps them survive. Bleached corals need time to recover, but bleaching events—when many corals lose color at the same time—are happening more frequently due to climate change, said Clint Oakley of New Zealand's Victoria University of Wellington. "It's a compounding problem," he said. "It takes more than a year for them to fully recover."

• Vietnam specifically: The coral reefs of Nha Trang have also had to contend with local pressures as that country's economy boomed and coastal towns grew. Sediment from construction harms corals. Runoff from agriculture, sewage, and booming aquaculture trigger algal blooms that block sunlight and choke corals. Intense overfishing kills off fishes that support reef health. By 2019, an outbreak of a predatory, thorny starfish had killed nearly 90% by eating corals of the surviving reefs, said Konstantin Tkachenko, a marine ecology professor at Russia's Samara University.
• Hit to tourism: This has affected not only the local fishing industry, but also Vietnam's tourism industry, especially among divers who flock to the country for its long coastline.
• Remedies: Vietnam has long insisted it's making efforts to make tourism sustainable. In 2001, the nation established 61 square miles of land and water as its first protected marine area. In 2022, local authorities paused tourism to give the reef time to recover while removing predatory starfish and cleaning the seabed. The government has also approved a coral nursery project to support the recovery of the ecosystem.
• Continuing issues: Problems still persist, from destructive practices that use explosives or poison, to excessive tourism and coastal construction, per Vietnamese state media.

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