User talk:Acmurray

    The state of coral reefs in the Philippines and Indonesia are drastically reducing in size to help benefit many tourists and hobbyists in countries such as our own.  In the Philippines 80% of coral mangroves have been lost since 1920.  This decline can be attributed to mostly blast and cyanide fishing.  Consiquently, the fish population has also suffered and declined.  Many of the fish and coral one might see in Aquariums today are most likely from Southeast Asian reefs.  Moreover, Indonesia has the most significant reef resource in Southeast Asia and unfortunately suffers as the Philippines do.  One differnce however, is though the reefs on the West Coast of Indonesia are damaged, the ecology of the Northeast reefs remains in good shape.  Overall, the decline of reefs around the world can be attributed to many forms of pollution, but most importantly they can be attributed to human population growth.

References: 1)Columbia Encyclopedia

2)Regional Perspectives: East Asian Seas. May 26, 2005. www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/outreach/coral/sor/sor_asia.html