WaterPollution: Difference between revisions

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==Major Sources of Pollution==
==Major Sources of Pollution==
===Industrial===
===Industrial===
*chemical release
Industry affects the coral reef biome in numerous ways, depending on the type and degree of emitted pollutants.  The form of pollution may differ between various factories or agricultural areas, and also varies based off of the number of businesses or people within the area.  Manufacturing complexes are more likely to emit chemical and thermal pollutants during product assembly as turbines are cooled with ocean water and excess reagents are released into the sea.  Large scale agricultural businesses are more prone to pollution via emission of fertilizers and animal waste products into the ocean.
*urban development
*factory development


===Human Waste===
===Human Waste===

Revision as of 21:37, 14 April 2014

Water Pollution

Overview

Common sources of water pollution that effect the coral reef environment include variations of chemical and physical factors from industrial, domestic, and individual entities. Pollution can be done purposefully or accidentally and on a variety of scales by corporations attempting to rid themselves of waste materials, chemicals leeching out of a swimmer’s sunscreen, or as a result of coastal development. A decrease in the proficiency of corals has been noticed globally. Numerous forces easily disturb the fragile state of coral reef biomes. A slight change in pH, temperature, chemical content, strength of sunlight may be enough to bleach a reef, and even kill it. Regardless of the source of pollution, consequences include a severe loss of biodiversity, damages to food chains, loss of habitat for indigenous creatures, and as a result loss of income for tourism based economies.

Major Sources of Pollution

Industrial

Industry affects the coral reef biome in numerous ways, depending on the type and degree of emitted pollutants. The form of pollution may differ between various factories or agricultural areas, and also varies based off of the number of businesses or people within the area. Manufacturing complexes are more likely to emit chemical and thermal pollutants during product assembly as turbines are cooled with ocean water and excess reagents are released into the sea. Large scale agricultural businesses are more prone to pollution via emission of fertilizers and animal waste products into the ocean.

Human Waste

  • sewage
  • litter

Physical/Chemical

  • tourism
    • sunscreen
    • physical damage caused by tourists
  • offshore oil production
  • erosion

Environmental Consequences of Pollution in Coral Reef Environments

  • loss of biodiversity
  • damages to food chains
  • loss of habitat
  • damage to tourism based economies

Case Study: Focus on St. John

Major Sources of Pollution

  • “Sediment from dirt roads, farmland, construction sites, urban encroachments, and other disturbed soils is the primary nonpoint source pollutant threatening the Islands' water resources.” [1]

Impacts

  • Buries coral reefs and seagrass beds
  • Clouds the water
  • Impairs fish feeding and breeding sites
  • Impacts recreational activities.
  • Destroy natural resources
  • Reduce the income and attractiveness of the tourist industry
  • Damage the territory's fishing industry [1]

Current Regulations and Conservation Efforts in St. John

  • "The Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources and the Islands' Nonpoint Source Committee are successfully using a multifaceted education and outreach approach to address this severe water quality problem. Workshops sponsored by the University of the Virgin Islands-Cooperative Extension Service help regulators, developers, and the general public better perceive the challenge that erosion and sedimentation present." [1][2]
  • "The USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) administers and enforces of all laws pertaining to the preservation and conservation of fish and wildlife, trees and vegetation, coastal zones, cultural and historical resources, water resources, and air, water, and oil pollution. DPNR is also responsible for oversight and compliance of land surveys, land subdivision, development and building permits, code enforcement, earth change permits, zoning administration, boat registration, and mooring and anchoring of vessels in territorial waters. It formulates long-range comprehensive and functional development plans for the territory's human, economic, and physical resources." [3]
  • The DPNR also releases evaluation findings for the Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Program regularly. [4]
  • "The U.S. Virgin Islands is also a member of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force. As part of the Task Force, the Coastal Program has led a participatory process to develop local action strategies to address four priority threats to coral reefs: land-based sources of pollution, over-fishing, lack of public awareness, and recreational misuse/overuse. The Coastal Program is also the U.S. Virgin Island's primary point-of-contact to the Task Force." [5]
  • Local Action Strategies (LAS): "U.S. Coral Reef Task Force led initiative to identify and implement priority actions needed to reduce key threats to valuable coral reef resources in each U.S. coral reef jurisdiction." [6]
  • 2 U.S. Marine Protected Areas on St. John: Virgin Island National Park & Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (see map below) [7]

caption

Alternative Policy/Regulatory Frameworks

  • Ecosystem-based Management [8]
  • Needs for Multidisciplinary Approach to Coral Reef Conservation [9]
  • Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) [10]
  • NOAA's Coral Research, Restoration, or Monitoring Expeditions [11]
  • Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring, Mapping and Assessing [12]

Additional Research/Study

Potential Future Complications

  • ecology
  • evolution of types of pollution

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Syedali, S.A. "Nonpoint source success stories: Virgin Islands." US Environmental Protection Agency, 6 March 2012. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. <http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/success319/virgin.cfm
  2. ↑ "Virgin Islands Coastal Nonpoint Program NOAA/EPA Decisions on Conditions of Approval." NOAA. Feb. 2002. <http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/nonpoint/docs/6217vi_fnl.pdf>
  3. ↑ "Task Force Members." United States Coral Reef Task Force. June 2011. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. http://www.coralreef.gov/about/members.html
  4. ↑ "Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Program." NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. Jan 2009. <http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/mystate/docs/virginislandscmp2009.pdf>.
  5. ↑ "Ocean and Coastal Management in the U.S. Virgin Islands." NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. 19 Feb 2014. Web. 25 Feb 2014. <http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/mystate/virgin_islands.html>.
  6. ↑ "Local Action Strategies." United states Coral Reef Task Force. May 2009. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. <http://www.coralreef.gov/las/
  7. ↑ "U.S. Marine Protected Areas." Web. 25 Feb. 2014. <http://marineprotectedareas.noaa.gov/dataanalysis/mpainventory/mpaviewer/
  8. ↑ NOAA. "NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program." June 17, 2011 Web. 23 Feb 2013. http://coralreef.noaa.gov/conservation/methods/#manaagement
  9. ↑ NOAA. "NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program." June 17, 2011 Web. 23 Feb 2013. http://coralreef.noaa.gov/conservation/methods/#multidis
  10. ↑ NOAA. "NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program." June 17, 2011 Web. 23 Feb 2013. http://coralreef.noaa.gov/conservation/methods/#mpa
  11. ↑ NOAA. "NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program." June 17, 2011 Web. 23 Feb 2013. http://coralreef.noaa.gov/conservation/methods/#expeditions
  12. ↑ NOAA. "NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program." June 17, 2011 Web. 23 Feb 2013. http://coralreef.noaa.gov/conservation/methods/#assessing
  1. "An Overview of Land Based Sources of Marine Pollution." UNEP-Caribbean Environment Programme_Land Based Sources of Marine Pollution. CAR/RCU, 21 Aug. 2001. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. <http://www.cep.unep.org/issues/lbsp.html>.
  2. "Coral Damage." Right Tourism Campaign Care for the Wild International Coral Damage Comments. N.p., 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. <http://right-tourism.com/issues/marine-activities/coral-damage/>.
  3. Harder, Ben. "Raw Human Waste Killing Off Coral Reefs?" National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 27 June 2002. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/06/0627_020627_coral.html>.
  4. "Status of and Threat to Coral Reefs." International Coral Reef Initiative. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. <http://www.icriforum.org/about-coral-reefs/status-and-threat-coral-reefs>.
  5. Shah, Anup. "Coral Reefs." Global Issues. N.p., 3 Mar. 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. <http://www.globalissues.org/article/173/coral-reefs>.
  6. Than, Ker. "Swimmers' Sunscreen Killing Off Coral." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 28 Jan. 2008. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080129-sunscreen-coral.html>.
  7. "The Value of Corals." Coral Reef Systems. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. <http://coralreefsystems.org/content/value-corals>.
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