Anthropogenic nitrogen pollution threats and challenges to the health of South Asian coral reefs

Nitrogen pollution is a widespread and growing problem in the coastal waters of South Asia yet the ecological impacts on the region’s coral ecosystems are currently poorly known and understood. South Asia hosts just under 7% of global coral reef coverage but has experienced significant and widespread coral loss in recent decades. The extent to which this coral ecosystem decline at the regional scale can be attributed to the multiple threats posed by nitrogen pollution has been largely overlooked in the literature. Here, we assess the evidence for nitrogen pollution impacts on corals in the central Indian Ocean waters of India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. We find that there is currently limited evidence with which to clearly demonstrate widespread impacts on coral reefs from nitrogen pollution, including from its interactions with other stressors such as seawater warming. However, this does not prove there are no significant impacts, but rather it reflects the paucity of appropriate observations and related understanding of the range of potential impacts of nitrogen pollution at individual, species and ecosystem levels. This situation presents significant research, management and conservation challenges given the wide acceptance that such pollution is problematic. Following from this, we recommend more systematic collection and sharing of robust observations, modelling and experimentation to provide the baseline on which to base prescient pollution control action

Table_1_Participatory video as a tool for co-management in coastal communities: a case study from Madagascar.DOCX

Here we examine participatory video (supporting a group to make a film around a specific issue) as a tool to facilitate input of local knowledge and empower communities in stewardship over their local marine resources. We draw from the “Voices of the Vezo” project, where researchers collaborated with a co-management partner organization and local youth to create participatory videos in traditional Vezo fishing communities in southwest Madagascar. The project focused on documenting and sharing local knowledge on shifting social-ecological conditions. Four communities participated in the project with 90 people interviewed and seven short films (7–15 min) created. The films were shared in the communities at public cinema nights and made widely available online. This paper describes the Voices of the Vezo project's process and outputs, examines participatory video's potential as a tool for community co-management, and outlines practical challenges and recommendations for implementing a participatory video project. We found videography to be a powerful tool for synthesizing local knowledge of shifting social and ecological conditions, especially where written records are scarce. We also identified specific examples where gathering and sharing community perceptions of marine ecosystem decline could foster discussion and action toward locally driven management interventions. Youth participants in the Voices of the Vezo project reported gaining knowledge and motivation to address marine management issues, indicating the potential for participatory video processes to cultivate local leadership. Finally, for participatory video practitioners, we found important practical considerations to help minimize biases when supporting communities with a participatory video process.</p