離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES》Coral bleaching worst since 1998
A diver investigates coral bleaching in the waters off Pingtung County’s Kenting National Park on Aug. 19. Photo courtesy of Greenpeace Taiwan
By Dennis Xie / Staff writer, with CNA
Greenpeace Taiwan yesterday urged the government to mitigate climate change by setting carbon reduction goals and more actively pursuing energy transformation, citing the largest coral bleaching off the coast of southern Taiwan that it has observed in the past two decades.
Serious coral bleaching is occurring in the waters off Pingtung County’s Kenting （墾丁）, Greenpeace Taiwan climate and energy campaign director Lena Chang （張皪心） said in a statement, presenting photographs and video footage taken in three diving spots in the area.
The bleaching observed is the most severe since 1998, with not only local divers reporting the issue, but also the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which issued a warning in July, Chang said.
The administration’s Coral Reef Watch raised its alert for coral bleaching in southern and northern Taiwan to “level 2” in July and last month respectively, she said, adding that the alert means severe bleaching and increased coral mortality.
Land and sea temperatures in Taiwan have been higher than usual due to fewer typhoons this year, with the nation’s surrounding waters, including those off Kenting, having recorded temperatures of more than 30°C, Chang said.
Reef-building coral can only tolerate temperatures between 18°C and 30°C. Temperatures outside that range lead to the coral expelling symbiotic algae and bleaching, before becoming weaker and even dying off, she said.
If global temperatures rise by 1.5°C, coral around the world would decline by 70 to 90 percent, while a 2°C increase would cause more than 99 percent to die, Chang said, citing a report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Coral plays an indispensable role in marine ecology, as it provides an environment where other species can rest, reproduce, avoid danger and find food, she said.
“Coral reefs are dubbed ‘the rainforests of the ocean,’ because they harbor up to 1,500 species,” she added.
The government should declare a climate emergency as soon as possible and set stricter carbon reduction targets in compliance with the Paris Agreement to preserve the coral, Chang said.
More than one-third of the coral off Kenting is bleached, which is the most severe incident since 1998, Kenting National Park Administration deputy director Hsu Shu-kuo （許書國） said.
Not only in the waters off Taiwan, but coral in the South China Sea has also showed signs of serious bleaching, Hsu said.
Cosmetics can also accelerate coral bleaching and some diving business operators in Kenting have said they would no longer accept customers wearing makeup or sunscreen, he said, adding that the administration would help promote the policy.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
