Geography

An ecosystem can be defined as a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment

Coral reefs are global ecosystems, which are commonly found in tropical regions around the world. This provides a range of goods and services to people both locally and globally. Regulating services provided by the protection of the Coral Reefs can provide many benefits for the area. For example, along the Great Barrier Reef along the Australian coastline, the coral reef has supported the growth of mangroves, which have helped to weaken the strength of destructive waves created by storm surges. This has helped to control coastal erosion and flooding along the North-Western coast of Australia. However, as the acidity of the oceans increases and sea levels begin to rise the ability of the reef to support life and prevent severe flooding while decrease, therefore, on a local value, regulation of the area is vital to ensure that erosion and coral bleaching in the area doesn’t damage the local way of life.
Coral Reefs can also provide supporting services for many areas through the use of tourism. For example, in Indonesia, the diverse biodiversity within the country in areas such as Coral Reefs has meant the Indonesian economy has boomed as a result of nature tourism. This had helped local areas because it has provided them with jobs, which has boosted the incomes of local people and creating a positive multiplier effect on Indonesian society. However, the main issue with tourism is that it could damage local ecosystems and as a result regulation would have to be implemented in order to protect the Coral Reefs. Although, tourism isn’t seen to be as important as the regulating services provided by Coral Reefs because by protecting coastlines from storm surges, the reefs are preventing social disruption and economic damage.
Finally, a global value of coral reefs is the provision of new medicines. This is increasingly important as the world’s population is...