Abstract Summary
Although some resilient coral reefs are being monitored in the past decades and still present signs of health and integrity, most of the coral reefs close to unustainable development areas are being exposed to high stress and degradation. The coral reefs scientists should inform industrial developers top decision makers and society, the great difficulty in time scales to bring back the original healthy integrity, structure, function and composition of coral reefs after provoking degradation. The ecological, social and economic values are very high and non comparable to the low benefit of any unsustainable project. Restoration is natural when stopping local and global stresses. In Colombia we have two cases studies, that are not yet officially protected by the Colombian Government but recently declared as Hope Spots by Mission Blue through a bottom-up process. Both protection frameworks were presented by scientists to the Fishers community who were requesting intervention and nomination according to the Colombian Law 70 from 1993, they expressed their disagreement with unsustainable development projects that affect them. The first case study is in the boundaries between Panama and Colombia in the Caribbean Sea. These coral reefs of Capurganá-cabo Tiburón have 70% Coral Healthy Cover. The second one is in the South of Cartagena Bay where there is 80% Coral Healthy Cover Hope. Fishermen Communities have been empowered in the last ten years to avoid the threats to their coral reefs from industrial fishing, oil / gal extraction and dredging. As result their coral reefs show indicators of good ecological integrity. Artisanal fisheries are thriving sustainably and even lionfish catches by the fishers have controlled the invasive species successfully in the past 10 Years. Even though the future (40 years of global warming and possible extinction of coral reef species) seems far away, it is actually beginning right now. Breaking coral colonies with funding of enterprises that develop dredging projects, oil extraction, pollution, amd more threats to coral reefs. Depend on the empowered scientific community, how well its advice is given to top decision makers in coherence to the real total value of the coral reef ecosystem
