For twenty-five years the communities around Lake Tegano in the Solomon Islands, have protected their customary forests and the lake awaiting tourism development opportunities that would follow on from the inscription of the area as a World Heritage Area. Despite their patience, few opportunities have arisen.
Coastal waters are used for recreational activities such as swimming or fishing. In the South Pacific Islands, most of the population and infrastructures are concentrated near the coast. Wastewater discharge are often not well regulated and released in the coastal waters. Growing population and effect of climate change might compromised the water quality of coastal lagoon if no management plans are established.
This paper reports on a dynamic modelling framework for ecosystem-based adaptation planning in a SIDS island context that is focussed on the assessment of coral reef health and resilience under different climate change scenarios, and the consequential economic and human well-being impacts. Port Resolution, Tanna Island was used as a case study to develop, test and model the fringing coral reef, local community and resultant socio-ecological system.
Coral reefs are among the most fragile ecosystems that provide essential services to local island communities. It is known that climate change impacts are the leading factors in coral reefs regime shift. Naturally, exploring the characteristics and interactions shaping regime shifts of coral reefs are critical in managing system pressures; enhancing resilience; aiding their regeneration and recovery process, and restoring habitat complexity.
We modelled coral reef stressors and potential adaptation interventions using the coral reef ecosystem of Port Resolution on Tanna Island as a microcosm of endangered Pacific Small Island Developing States.
No data monitoring was done in Erakor Lagoon on Efate, in Vanuatu, to assess current and future risks to the coral reefs. We have led a month data collection in Erakor to improve our knowledge of coastal processes in this area and of wave transformation over the reef.