[Coral-List] Beach erosion burried corals in Lombok gilis.

[Imam Bachtiar]

Dear all,
I noticed in the last decade, that beach erosion in the three gilis (Gili
Trawangan, Gili Air, and Gili Meno), Lombok - Indonesia, burried living
corals and soft corals. The three gilis are the most popular tourist
islands. Apparently, the coral burials strated from the southern coast and
now reached the northen coast. The snorkling area of the Gili Trawangan are
now neraly completely covered by white sand. We can hardly see the living
corals and soft corals that previously predominant on this area. The
remaining corals are medium size to big colonies of massive corals
(Porites). The burials have moved from reef flat down to 15-20 meter depth.
Wave actions are now very different from the last decade, when no wave is
breaking on the beach. This could be caused by coral degradation due to
tourist boat anchorage and increasing wind energy.
I am wondering whether any reports or publication about this beach erosion
causing coral burial in other places? What should we do to solve this
problem?
Regards,
Imam Bachtiar