[Coral-List] New paper on land-sea connections and vulnerability of coral reef areas to land mining

Rafael Magris rafael.magris at my.jcu.edu.au
Wed Jan 9 11:54:09 UTC 2019


Dear colleagues,

I would like to drawn your attention to a *new paper* published in *Science
of Total Environment* (https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1YLDAB8ccgiJm). The
paper presents the most comprehensive assessment of threats related to *land
mining* to downstream *Marine Protected Areas* containing *coral reefs* and
other associated habitats (e.g. seagrasses, crustose coralline algae).

In November 2015 about 39 million of cubic meters of metal-contaminated
slurry polluted riverine and coastal waters when a tailing dam failure
disaster occurred in a headwater of the Doce river catchment (Southwestern
Brazil).

This river is now the most polluted in Brazil, and the sediment plume
extended towards sensitive areas in the sea, such as coral reefs,
seagrasses and habitats formed by coralline crustose algae.

At least two Marine Protected Areas were affected and two other could be
affected in the future, according to the assessment. Because MPAs are
ineffective at reducing this type of land-sea threat to biodiversity, the
paper highlights the importance of considering all forms of connectivity
for improved coastal integrated management, including the ones not
desirable.

The paper can also be downloaded directly from my RG profile:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rafael_Almeida_Magris


 Best wishes for 2019,
-- 

*Rafael A. Magris, PhD*
Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation - ICMBio / Brazilian
Ministry of Environment
Brasília/DF, Brazil
Skype: rafael.magris


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