Coral reefs are the lifeline of the oceans. They are home to a wide variety of plants and animals and their health signifies the well-being of the entire marine ecosystem. A WWF-India project in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands discovered the phenomenon of extensive bleaching of the coral reefs. Alarmed over the situation,WWF-India called upon the Government to take urgent steps such as a monitoring action plan and instituting better management practices.

    In 1997,the International Year of the Reefs , WWF-India had launched a project which concluded that the phenomenon of bleaching, observed in the coral reefs off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, could well signal their doom. The project, undertaken in collaboration with SANE (Society for Andaman Nicobar Ecology), a local NGO, recommended further investigations and monitoring to save the coral reefs.

    Coral reefs are known for some of the highest levels of gross productivity on earth. Coral polyps provide much of the energy to other communities in the marine ecosystem. The corals also harbour algae which process sunlight to fuel deriving nutrients from the polyp’s waste. Reef building corals and certain calcareous algae lay down the foundation of calcium carbonate. The massive structures built over generations are home to a wide array of plants and animals.

    Coral reefs thus represent millions of years of growth and many of them could be the oldest living communities. The preferred places of coral reefs are shallow waters between the Tropic of Capricorn and Tropic of Cancer. The total extent of coral reefs is about 6,00,000 sq. km. It is estimated that the total global area of near surface reefs -which are diverse, productive and economically important -to be some 2,55,000 sq. km.

    The terrestrial ecosystem (tropical) of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are among the global hotspots and form the focus of WWF-India’s Biodiversity Hotspots Conservation Programme (BHCP). The marine ecosystem of the islands are also designated as one of the global eco-regions identified by WWF in the realm of coral reef and associated marine ecosystems in the northern Indian Ocean.
Much of the East Asian coral reefs are estimated to face medium-to-higher levels of threats and some in the Andaman Islands are facing medium-to-low threats. The coral reefs of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are the most diverse in terms of species and spatial cover. The Islands have fringing reefs around the east coast and a long barrier reef (320 km) on the west. The reef flat occupies an area of 795 sq km. Coral heads and coraline shelf occupy 18 and 45 sq km, respectively. The reefs are poorly known scientifically but may prove to be the most diverse in India and those in the best condition. So far,39 genera with 179 species are recorded (ca. 76 genera and 342 species in India).

    The project served twin purposes - documentation and monitoring. It was , during the surveys of reef dwelling fish that SANE- the first agency to do so -reported extensive bleaching in the islands. Subsequent investigations by WWF-India and SANE indicated that bleaching had struck reefs along the entire length and breadth of the islands, which was promptly brought to the notice of the local administration and the management authorities. Following this, WWF-India urged the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to take the necessary steps to have it investigated and monitored further. WWF-India also suggested management measures to be adopted to protect the coral reefs.
In December 1998, SANE organised a meeting for developing a coral reef monitoring action plan for the islands with the help of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN-South Asia). SANE had been working with GCRMN ever since the launch of the WWF-India project. Following the meeting, a committee was set up under the chairmanship of the Chief Wildlife Warden (the management authority) of A&N Islands and Officer-in-Charge of Department of Ocean Development acting as its Secretary. SANE is also among the members of the committee. The proposed monitoring action plan is expected to be ready shortly. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (through the Botanical Survey of India and the Zoological Survey of India), the Department of Ocean Development, and the Department of Environment and Forests (A&N Islands) are the key players for initiating the development of a monitoring action plan. For WWF-India, it is indeed a matter of satisfaction that its strategy of developing and instituting an action plan is being fulfilled.

    Through its Centre for Environmental Law and the BHCP, WWF-India has taken up another project for developing a handbook on environmental law and policies for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The project is attempting to address the gaps and loopholes in laws and policies on coral reefs. This project will hopefully be able to make recommendations on improving existing laws, as also facilitate the necessary amendments in laws and policies, for the effective conservation and management of the coral reef ecosystem in the islands.

    The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests is currently undertaking a UNDP supported pilot project, "Management of Coral Reef Ecosystem of the A&N Islands" for developing a full project to ensure the conservation and management of A&N Islands’ reefs. An Indian Coral Reef Monitoring Network has also been established for the purpose. Besides, the Wildlife Institute of India is engaged in a project to develop a management plan for the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park at Wandoor, which is one of the few marine national parks in India. In 1996, the Department of Environment and Forests of Andaman and Nicobar Islands notified three islands in the Ritchies Archipelago, comprising Outram Island, Henry Lawrence Island and John Lawrence Islands and the coastal waters surrounding them, as the Rani Jhansi Marine National Park.

Though monitoring of reefs remains poor in India.,the WWF-India project has, hopefully, provided the impetus for all concerned to take the right step for the preservation of our coral reefs.