Responsible Tourism: Why Should Business Care About Dead Corals

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Responsible Tourism Why Should Business Care
About Dead Corals

• A Businessman's Perspective of the Coral Reefs

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• Dead or Alive
• What we call "hard or stony corals" are actually
  skeletons of small marine animals called coral
  polyps, which grow in groups or "colonies". As
  polyps die, new ones grow on top of their
  skeletons, very slowly building coral reefs.

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• Older Than Time.
• With some species needing 250 years to build one
  meter of coral reef, it is believed that some of
  the world's largest reefs started forming more
  than 400 million years ago.

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• Different species of coral polyp create
  different skeletal patterns, and corals often get
  their common names from their shape, size or
  texture.

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Corals eat at night. See these coral polyps
looking for dinner. Look at the tentacles all
around the mouth. Many STINGERS are on each
tentacle.
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Coral polyps build shells made by combining
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Calcium (Ca) to form
Calcium Carbonate (also known as Limestone).
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• Beauty and Function Coral reef fish are prized
  as a source of food and for their aesthetic value
  - just two of a great many reasons why we should
  care about what happens to our coral reefs!

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• Killing the Hope for a Cure
• Coral reefs are probable sources of medicines
  to cure the diseases that currently plague the
  earth. Chemicals found in the reefs have been
  used to treat ulcers, heart disease, leukemia,
  and more.

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A tree is to the forest, As a coral is to the
reef.
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The Philippines Center of the Center of
Marine Shore Fish Biodiversity
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In this photo released 16 Oct 2007 by the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and
National Geographic Society-led Inner Space
Speciation Project Scientist discover rare marine
species in Philippines Atolla sp., a deep sea
jellyfish from a depth of at least 1,500 meters
exploring the Celebes Sea thru ROV (Remotely
Operated Vehicle)
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A juvenile boxfish, measuring 1cm long, collected
in the surface waters of Celebes Sea
www.thestar.com
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• Richest concentration of marine life on the
  entire planet
• High in number of species that is only found in
  our country

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• Blast Fishing or dynamite fishing describes the
  practice of using dynamite, homemade bombs or
  other explosives to stun or kill schools of fish
  for easy collection.

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• Cyanide fishing is an illegal form of fishing
  common in South East Asia, which usually uses the
  chemical compound sodium cyanide.

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Oil spills, waste dumping, and other byproducts
of human advances have resulted in the
contamination of the oceans. When the
homoeostasis of the reef area is lost, there is
an overgrowth of algae. When too much algae grows
on the reef, the coral cannot get enough oxygen
and is the reef is effectively smothered by
Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide.
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Human Impacts on Philippine Coastal Environments
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A basic ecology lesson
An ecosystem is like a jenga game. Each block
has a function to hold the system together.
Pull out too many blocks and the system will
collapse
Each organism in an ecosystem has a function
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Shangri-La Group
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Great Beauty and Spiritual Value
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• Underwater Clean up

• Collecting rubbish that would block the sunlight

• Collecting loose corals for transplant

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Beach Clean up

• Volunteers from management and staff

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• Coral Transplant

• Training conducted by our in house Marine
  Biologist

• Transplant method using a mixed of clay cement
  and loose corals

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Giant Clam Propagation

• Giant clams are marine bivalves with colorful
  mantles and extraordinarily large shells

• Seven of the Nine existing species of
  Tridacnidae are found in the Philippine waters

UPMSI Giant Clam Project Coastal Dynamics
Foundation
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The Guardians of the Reef
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Why do we care?

• Sustainable Tourism - its purest sense, attempts
  to make a low impact on the environment and local
  culture while helping to generate income and
  employment for locals, as well as to promote the
  conservation of local ecosystems.

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We were once one of the richest marine resources
in the Philippines.
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Doing the RIGHT thing, moves us FORWARD
We take away from the Earths Natural capital,
and call it Income
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The ultimate security of future generations
depends on maintaining a healthy and sustainable
environment.
Man is an integral part of Nature and occupies a
special place in the order of Creation. He has
been gifted with the sensitivity of mind spirit
to be its steward and guardian.
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In the eyes of Nature, we are just another
species in trouble.
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• This simplified explanation description of
  corals coral reef have been culled from various
  sources
• Reef Check International
• The Law of Nature by Atty. Tony Oposa
• Coastal Dynamics Foundation Mr. Mike Nora
  Ross
• www.cebudive.com
• www.cdnn.info/news/science/sc061211.html
• http//oceanworld.tamu.edu
• http//oneocean.org
• www.sciencedaily.com
• http//www.coralreef.org

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Thank You!!!