Environmental Management of Tropical Reef and Island Ecosystems
Summer 2004
Coral Reefs are renowned as one of the most spectacular ecosystems on the planet. They reach their highest diversity in the Indo-Pacific Region, where the brilliant blue seas are sprinkled with a mosaic of lush green islands and turquoise reefs. These areas have been used by humans for tens of thousands of years, as sources of food, building materials, and transport. However, the growing populations and changing economic bases in many tropical countries are placing reef and island ecosystems under increasing pressure, and environmental degradation is widespread in many locations.
The Environmental Management of Tropical Reef and Island Ecosystems (EMTRIE) field course was designed to introduce students to the ecology of coral reefs, summarize the current status of reef and island ecosystems, and to discuss the options for sustainable environmental management of these areas into the future. The location of the course was on Magnetic Island, part of the Great Barrier Reef. The Island is situated 8km off the East Australian tropical coast, near the large provincial city of Townsville (pop. 180,000). The island was perfectly suited to be the accommodation base for such a course, and in addition, it formed a natural case study on Tropical Island and Reef Management. More than 75% of the island is protected National Park, while the surrounding waters are part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and also the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. The island has more than 20 beaches, many of which have well-developed coral reefs within easy swimming distance of shore. However, the island also has 2,000 permanent residents, suburban infrastructure, and a thriving environmental tourism industry. This combination of factors provided a great opportunity for the participants to study both tropical island and reef ecology, as well to learn the strategies employed to manage these ecosystems in the face of human development.
The EMTRIE course utilized a field-orientated approach to learning, with students snorkelling on coral reefs at Magnetic Island, and at Lizard Island in the Far Northern Great Barrier Reef. Lectures covered fundamentals of coral reef ecology, the current global status and health of coral reefs, major management issues, and management strategies. In addition, students obtained practical experience in coral reef monitoring techniques, and collected and analyzed data from several different reef locations. The first week of the program was spent on Magnetic Island, with the students accomodated in one of the Island's newest beachside backpacker resorts. The curriculum in the first week focused on introducing the students to the marine and terrestrial environments of Magnetic Island and the Great Barrier Reef, and discussion of the global conservation status of coral reefs.
In the second week, the students transferred by bus to the city of Cairns - 350km north of Townsville - to fly north to Lizard Island Research Station. Lizard Island is situated in the pristine northern section of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and it has extremely diverse reef communities. The curriculum in the second week focused on studying the ecology of coral reefs. Students snorkeled twice daily on various reefs around Lizard Island, and gained hands-on experience in the collection of coral reef monitoring data.
The group then returned to Magnetic Island for the remaining 14 days of the program. By this stage of the course, the students had a good knowledge of reef ecology and had also become familiar with the threats facing coral reefs on local and global scales. The curriculum now turned to study the strategies and plans used to manage coral reef ecosystems in both developed countries like Australia, and in many of the poorer countries in the nearby Indo-Pacific region. The students also continued an active field program, collecting monitoring data from Magnetic Island to compare with the data taken at Lizard Island - this data set formed the basis of a formal research paper submitted at the end of the course. Additional assessment took the form of a 3-hour written essay examination, covering a wide range of material learned throughout the course.
In summary, the EMTRIE course allowed students to take part in an intensive field-orientated learning process. They obtained first hand understanding of the ecology of coral reefs, the threats facing reefs on both local and global scales, and the most up-to-date management strategies used to protect these diverse marine ecosystems. In addition, they were able to experience life on an Australian tropical island, with its unique social and environmental values.