Abstract

From the Introduction:

The Coral Triangle encompasses almost six million square kilometers of ocean and coastal waters surrounding Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. It is considered the global epicenter of marine biodiversity—home to over 500 species of reefbuilding corals and 3,000 species of fish. The cumulative impacts of unplanned coastal development, over-fishing, habitat degradation, and climate change threaten the health and welfare, food security, and livelihoods of over 120 million people that live in coastal zone.

Increasing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are driving change in the physical and chemical characteristics of marine and coastal environments in Coral Triangle. Warming and acidifying oceans may eliminate coral dominated reefs, decimate mangrove systems, and eliminate seagrass beds. These changes will dramatically affect coastal communities and ecosystems in the Coral Triangle.

This Region-wide Early Action Plan for Climate Change Adaptation (REAP-CCA) sets forth urgent and immediate actions that need to be taken across the Coral Triangle to build coastal community resilience to climate change.