South Asian coral reefs vary considerably. The oceanic reefs (the Maldives, Laccadive/Lakshadweep, and Chagos atolls) and the high islands (Andaman and Nicobar Islands fringing reefs) are generally in very good condition, whereas the fringing and patch reefs off India and Sri Lanka are mostly in poor condition. Increased sedimentation and pollution are major problems on mainland reefs off India and Sri Lanka. Coral mining continues to be a problem in India, Sri Lanka, and in the Maldives. Intensive fishing is common near heavily populated parts of India and Sri Lanka, but less so in the Maldives and the Indian islands. Collection for the aquarium industry is depleting favoured species in the Maldives and Sri Lanka, and tourism is increasing the demand for reef products in Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Unprecedented coral bleaching in mid-1998 has seriously damaged almost all reefs in South Asia, with losses of nearly 60–80% of live coral cover. Such large-scale damage, together with natural and human degradation, poses serious problems for coastal communities, particularly for the atolls, which also face a predicted rise in sea level. There is an increase in environmental consciousness, and attitudes towards management in South Asia have risen considerably over the past few years.

Most of South Asian coral reefs are off India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Chagos, with very small areas associated with Bangladesh and Pakistan. Coral reef growth off mainland India is mainly in the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar region. Reefs along the rest of the coast are inhibited by massive fresh water and sediment inputs from the Indus, Ganges, and other rivers, and by cold upwelling in the northwest. This is also the reason why there are almost no reefs in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Sri Lanka has shallow fringing reefs and coral growth on sandstone and rocky reefs along about half of its coastline. Over on the eastern side of the Indian Ocean, there are extensive fringing reefs on the mountainous Andaman and Nicobar islands.

The major coral reef structures in this region occur as atolls on the Chagos-Laccadive ridge. This includes the Laccadives (Lakshadweep, India), the Maldives and the Chagos group (British Territory). This group has large areas of relatively unknown submerged coral-limestone banks.

St. Martin’s Island (10 km south of the mainland, 8.0 km by 1.6 km) is the only coral reef in Bangladesh. However, it is gradually eroding because of stress from sedimentation, cyclones and storm surges, removal of coral, boat anchoring, and destructive fishing.

The five atolls with islands of Chagos (21,000 km² of shallow waters) are on the southern end of the Chagos-Laccadive ridge, and include the Great Chagos Bank, probably the world’s largest atoll, which is mostly submerged except for eight islands on the northwest rim. The military base of Diego Garcia is on one of the smaller atolls to the south.

The Chagos constitute probably the largest area of relatively undisturbed reefs in the Indian Ocean, and some of the best. There are about 200 coral species, including some endemics, which are actively growing. These reefs are reasonably well protected, because they are uninhabited and inaccessible, except for Diego Garcia, but there is no legal protection. The Corbett action plan for protected areas has identified Chagos as a priority area for the Indo-Malayan region. The only pressures come from fishing boats that are catching sharks for shark fin, and sea cucumbers. This level of fishing is not regarded as a major threat, but there is the possibility that cyanide fishing boats will target the area.

Coral species recorded for all Indian reefs are 207 in 55 genera. Shallow, fringing coral reefs grow on a few widely scattered parts of the coast. Massive sediment flows from large rivers inhibit reef growth in most areas. In the northwest, the shallow Gulf of Kutch reefs have been heavily damaged by sediment input, sand dredging, and coral mining, and the reef area has declined from 117 km² in 1975 to 53 km² in 1985. There was a partial recovery of 28 km² in 1988, after laws to stop mangrove cutting and coral mining in the Gulf of Kutch Marine National Park were enforced.

The long fringing reef off Palk Bay in the southeast has been badly damaged by sedimentation, pollution, coral mining, and intensive fishing. There are 65 coral species, and some dugong and turtles have been reported, but are under increasing threat.

There are about 20 small islands and many reefs in the Gulf of Mannar, southwest of the Mandapam Peninsula and Rameswaram Island. The marine national park is about 200 km², but is not properly managed. The coral reefs here are more diverse than those further north, with 117 species growing in an area more favourable for corals. There is large-scale coral mining, and pollution, and fishing pressure is intense, particularly for dugong and turtle.

These are the most important coral reef resources of India. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Eastern Indian Ocean consist of many hundreds of high islands with extensive fringing reefs. These grow immediately offshore from the mountainous islands and are often several hundred meters wide on the Andamans, extending up to 1 km wide in the Nicobars (300 km further south). Recent surveys of 110 locations in 45 reef areas showed that most of the reefs were in pristine condition with up to 135 coral species, and other reefs were degraded due to increased sedimentation, pollution, and destructive fishing. Crown-of-thorns outbreaks have been reported, but there is no information on the impacts. These islands are important for dugong and turtles. The best nesting sites for leatherback turtles in the Indian Ocean are on the Nicobar Islands.

The Laccadive (Lakshadweep) Islands off the southwest coast of India are the northern end of the largest group of atolls in the Indian Ocean. There are 36 islands and lagoons (including 11 major ones), four large submerged reefs and five big submerged banks. These have the most luxuriant coral growth in India with 69 species, along with giant clams and turtles. Coral mining is present and there is some heavy fishing pressure.

All the coral reefs near the mainland are heavily exploited for coral sand and rock, and there is also extensive collecting of ornamental shells, gorgonians, seaweeds, holothuroids, lobsters, and sea horses. Coral and sand mining are major problems, particularly in the Gulf of Kutch where some reefs have been totally removed. Reef fishing is mostly subsistence and largely unstudied, but may constitute about 10% of the total marine fish catch in India. Pollution and sedimentation are the greatest threats to these reefs, and industrial and oil pollution cause significant damage in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay. Blast fishing and other destructive practices are persistent problems in many areas.

The Maldives form the largest part of the Chagos-Laccadive ridge with 22 low atolls, extending 764 km north to south. There are over 800 small vegetated coral islands, and many unvegetated sand cays which cover a 300 km² area, but the maximum elevation is only 5 m. Fish are extremely abundant and rich, with about 1000 species. Live coral cover is generally excellent, often exceeding 75%, although recent natural events have affected the health of some reefs. Outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish have caused some coral death, and three periods of higher sea-surface temperatures in 1983, 1987, and 1998 have caused coral mortality, with the recent bleaching being particularly severe. Nothing like this has occurred in the past 40 years of recorded reef assessment, with losses of nearly 80% on many reefs.

Coral rock has been traditionally used as the main building material. For example, about 94,000 cubic meters of rock were mined between 1975 and 1985, and recent estimates are that between 200,000 and 1,000,000 cubic meters of coral rock are mined annually, mostly for resort construction. This coral mining is unsustainable, particularly in the face of future sea level rise.

Tourism is the major reef-related activity, expanding from two resorts in 1972, to 74 resorts in the central atolls. Annual tourist arrivals of more than 200,000 exceed the permanent Maldive population.

Most reef problems in the Maldives are recent (except for coral mining) and result from modernization of fishing methods (providing fish for tourist resorts and the Asian live food fish trade), the development of tourism, and sea level rise. Beaches have been modified, sand dredged, buildings have been set on the beaches, and often methods of solid and liquid waste disposal are poor.

There are no real coral reefs in Pakistan, but in areas where the water is sufficiently clear towards the east, there are often small colonies growing on hard substrate.

There are fringing or offshore patch reefs along an estimated 2% of the 1585 km Sri Lankan coastline. There are offshore reefs in the Gulf of Mannar and along the east coast. Corals have also colonised many sandstone and rocky shallow areas, particularly in the southeast, however, the full extent of offshore reefs has not been determined. There are 183 coral species in 68 genera and over 300 species of reef fish in 62 families.

The healthiest reefs are the offshore patch and sandstone reefs, where live coral cover on some reefs (including a few undamaged nearshore reefs), is over 50%. However, most of the nearshore reefs have low coral cover. It is apparent that most of these reefs have suffered extensive bleaching and coral death during the major bleaching event of mid-1998, with losses in coral cover of approximately 80–90% on some fringing reefs along the south coast.

Many Sri Lanka reefs have been severely damaged by human activities. The major impacts are from the increasing flow of sediment from deforestation, poor agricultural practices, and domestic and urban development. Another large impact is coral mining along the southern and eastern coasts. Most reefs are easily accessible, therefore there is extensive fishing, often with explosives or fine mesh nets, and considerable collecting of aquarium species, particularly where law enforcement is absent. There has recently been an increase in uncontrolled tourism development, which is damaging nearshore reefs.

In addition, northwest and east coast reefs are under persistent attack from the crown-of-thorns starfish, and large areas of the coast are naturally eroding because of monsoon waves from the Indian Ocean. Rock and concrete structures have been built to protect beaches, vegetation, and human development, and the threat of sea level rise is a major concern.

There are many marine protected areas (MPAs) that include reefs, but most are small, fragmented and without effective management. The best protected reefs are remote from human disturbance (Chagos, Maldives, Nicobars and Laccadives), but few have been declared as MPAs. The Maldives recently established 15 protected sites; India has (1992) several national parks with minimal management; and the Hikkaduwa (1979) and Bar Reef (1992) marine sanctuaries were established by Sri Lanka, but are ineffectively managed. Most governments have enacted strong legislation for reef management (e.g. in Sri Lanka there is: the Coast Conservation Act [1981, 1988]; the National Coastal Zone Management Plan [1990, 1997]; the National Environmental Act [1980, 1988]; the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance [1937, 1938, 1970, 1972, 1993]; the Fisheries Ordinance [1940, 1973, 1997]; and the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency Act [1981]), but resource allocation and implementation are minimal, and do not contribute much to reef conservation.

In most countries, there are ambiguous laws and considerable overlaps among institutions responsible for coastal management, meaning that enforcement is lacking in nearly all countries. Exceptions appear to be in the Maldives, where fishing and tourism are closely regulated in MPAs, but there are no controls in remote areas.

Research and monitoring should be improved and expanded, monitoring methods standardized, and communication links improved among all agencies and countries. This monitoring should include both assessment of the reefs and of the communities that use reef resources. This will increase awareness on the status of, and levels of threats to, coral reefs, and provide resource managers, decision-makers, and funding agencies with valid data.

Capacity building for management is essential in all countries, especially India. Such training can be based on experiences gained in successful and unsuccessful attempts to manage coastal resources. Training should include all aspects of integrated coastal management, including policy development, legal implications, economic values, sociological and biological assessments. It is essential to train personnel to understand the importance of community participation in resource management.

Funding for integrated coral reef management is needed from both country and outside donor budgets. It is essential that programmes for Integrated Coastal Management be funded for the long-term and include all stakeholders, as there are many examples in the region of short-term projects that have collapsed after funding stopped. The involvement of the private sector is essential where tourism developers could be encouraged to lease and conserve nearby reef areas, and introduce eco-tourism to provide tourists with the chance to view healthy coral reefs.

Arjan Rajasuriya is from the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency in Sri Lanka, and Alan White is currently in the Philippines after managing the Coastal Resources Management Project in Sri Lanka.