United Nations UNEP/GEF South China Sea Global Environment Environment Programme Project Facility Reversing Environmental Degradation Trends in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand NATIONAL REPORTS on Coral Reefs in the Coastal Waters of the South China Sea First published in Thailand in 2007 by the United Nations Environment Programme. Copyright © 2007, United Nations Environment Programme This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder provided acknowledgement of the source is made. UNEP would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose without prior permission in writing from the United Nations Environment Programme. UNEP/GEF Project Co-ordinating Unit, United Nations Environment Programme, UN Building, 2nd Floor Block B, Rajdamnern Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand Tel. +66 2 288 1886 Fax. +66 2 288 1094 http://www.unepscs.org DISCLAIMER: The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of UNEP or the GEF. The designations employed and the presentations do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP, of the GEF, or of any cooperating organisation concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, of its authorities, or of the delineation of its territories or boundaries. Cover Figure: Coral Reefs in Phu quoc Islands, Vietnam, by Nguyen Van Long For citation purposes this document may be cited as: UNEP, 2007. National Reports on Coral Reefs in the Coastal Waters of the South China Sea. UNEP/GEF/SCS Technical Publication No. 11. NATIONAL REPORT ON CORAL REEF IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA Table of Contents OVERVIEW.......................................................................................................................................... 1 ABOUT THE SOUTH CHINA SEA ............................................................................................................ 1 HUMAN POPULATIONS BORDERING THE SOUTH CHINA SEA .................................................................... 1 CORAL REEF DISTRIBUTION AND BIODIVERSITY ..................................................................................... 2 THE CORAL REEF SUB-COMPONENT OF THE UNEP/GEF SOUTH CHINA SEA PROJECT............................ 3 REGIONAL THREATS TO CORAL REEFS.................................................................................................. 3 TOWARD THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF CORAL REEFS................................................................. 5 CAMBODIA ....................................................................................................................................... 11 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 11 PHYSICAL FEATURES ......................................................................................................................... 11 CORAL REEF DISTRIBUTION ............................................................................................................... 11 BIODIVERSITY ................................................................................................................................... 11 STATUS OF CORAL REEFS ................................................................................................................. 13 THREATS.......................................................................................................................................... 15 SOCIO-ECONOMY AND RESOURCE USES............................................................................................. 16 MANAGEMENT................................................................................................................................... 19 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................. 21 INDONESIA ....................................................................................................................................... 23 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 23 PHYSICAL FEATURES......................................................................................................................... 23 CORAL REEF DISTRIBUTION AND BIODIVERSITY ................................................................................... 24 THREATS.......................................................................................................................................... 27 ECONOMIC VALUATION AND USES ...................................................................................................... 31 MANAGEMENT................................................................................................................................... 33 MALAYSIA ........................................................................................................................................ 37 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 37 CORAL REEF DISTRIBUTION ............................................................................................................... 38 BIODIVERSITY ................................................................................................................................... 38 THREATS.......................................................................................................................................... 41 SOCIO-ECONOMIC VALUATION............................................................................................................ 46 MANAGEMENT................................................................................................................................... 48 PHILIPPINES..................................................................................................................................... 55 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 55 PHYSICAL FEATURES......................................................................................................................... 56 CORAL REEF DISTRIBUTION ............................................................................................................... 56 BIODIVERSITY ................................................................................................................................... 58 THREATS.......................................................................................................................................... 59 ECONOMIC VALUATION AND USES ...................................................................................................... 61 MANAGEMENT................................................................................................................................... 63 THAILAND......................................................................................................................................... 69 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 69 PHYSICAL FEATURES......................................................................................................................... 69 CORAL REEF DISTRIBUTION ............................................................................................................... 70 BIODIVERSITY ................................................................................................................................... 74 THREATS.......................................................................................................................................... 74 ECONOMICS VALUATION AND USES .................................................................................................... 76 MANAGEMENT................................................................................................................................... 78 iii NATIONAL REPORT ON CORAL REEF IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA VIET NAM .......................................................................................................................................... 93 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 93 PHYSICAL FEATURES......................................................................................................................... 94 CORAL REEF DISTRIBUTION AND MORPHOLOGY .................................................................................. 94 BIODIVERSITY ................................................................................................................................... 98 SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS FROM CORAL REEFS ............................................................................. 104 STATUS AND THREATS..................................................................................................................... 107 MANAGEMENT................................................................................................................................