Socioeconomic impacts of coral bleaching and related mortality:
Degraded coral reefs are less able to provide the ecosystem services on which local human communities depend. For example, degraded reefs are less productive and may not be able to sustain accretion rates necessary to ensure reefs continue to provide shoreline protection services.
Reefs damaged by coral bleaching can quickly lose many of the features that underpin the aesthetic appeal that is fundamental to reef tourism. The resultant loss of revenue from reduced tourist activity can threaten the livelihoods of local communities.
Coral bleaching events that lead to significant coral mortality can drive large shifts in fish communities. This can translate into reduced catches for fishers targeting reef fish species, which in turn leads to impacts on food supply and associated economic activities.
Cultural values of many tropical island communities (e.g., religious sites and traditional uses of marine resources) depend upon healthy coral reef ecosystems and can be adversely affected by coral bleaching.
Coral reefs are a valuable source of pharmaceutical compounds. Degraded and dead reefs are less likely to serve as a source for important medicinal resources (i.e., drugs to treat heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses).