4 Coastal Marine Ecosystems - rioccadapt

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4 Coastal Marine Ecosystems - rioccadapt
4
Coastal Marine
Ecosystems
Jorge Cortés (Costa Rica), Alicia Villamizar (Venezuela),
Gustavo J. Nagy (Uruguay), Pascal O. Girot (Costa Rica),
Karina S.B. Miglioranza (Argentina), and Sebastián Villasante (Spain).

This chapter should be cited as:

Cortés, J., A. Villamizar, G.J. Nagy, P.O. Girot, K.S.B. Miglioranza, and S. Villasante,
2020: Coastal and Marine Ecosystems. In: Adaptation to Climate Change Risks in
Ibero-American Countries — RIOCCADAPT Report [Moreno, J.M., C. Laguna-Defior,
V. Barros, E. Calvo Buendía, J.A. Marengo, and U. Oswald Spring (eds.)], McGraw Hill,
Madrid, Spain (pp. 123-150, ISBN: 9788448621667).
4 Coastal Marine Ecosystems - rioccadapt
Chapter 4 – Coastal Marine Ecosystems

         CO N T E NTS

         Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................         125
           4.1. Introduction...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................     125
                      4.1.1.        Conceptual framework......................................................................................................................................................................................              125
                      4.1.2. Key figures on coastal marine ecosystems............................................................................................................................................                                           126
                      4.1.3. Coastal marine ecosystems and climate change.................................................................................................................................                                                  128
                      4.1.4. Previous IPCC reports.......................................................................................................................................................................................                   128
           4.2. Components of climate change risk in coastal marine environments.................................................................................................                                                                           131
                      4.2.1. Hazards.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................   131
                      4.2.2. Exposure...................................................................................................................................................................................................................    131
                      4.2.3. Vulnerability............................................................................................................................................................................................................      131
           4.3. Characterization of risks and their impacts........................................................................................................................................................                                         132
           4.4. Adaptation measures.......................................................................................................................................................................................................                  135
                      4.4.1. Adaptation options.............................................................................................................................................................................................                135
                      4.4.2. Planned adaptation activities........................................................................................................................................................................                          135
                                    4.4.2.1. Supranational scale..........................................................................................................................................................................                  137
                                    4.4.2.2. National scale......................................................................................................................................................................................           137
                                    4.4.2.3. Local scale.............................................................................................................................................................................................       138
                      4.4.3. Autonomous adaptation activities.............................................................................................................................................................                                  138
           4.5. Barriers, opportunities and interactions...............................................................................................................................................................                                     138
           4.6. Indicators of adaptation effectiveness.................................................................................................................................................................                                     139
           4.7. Case studies .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................      139
                      4.7.1. Vulnerability assessment, alternative scenarios and Ecosystem-based Adaptation: Uruguay.................................                                                                                                       139
                                    4.7.1.1.        Case summary.....................................................................................................................................................................................       139
                                    4.7.1.2. Introduction to the case problem..............................................................................................................................................                                 140
                                    4.7.1.3. Case description.................................................................................................................................................................................              140
                                    4.7.1.4. Limitations and interactions........................................................................................................................................................                           140
                                    4.7.1.5. Lessons learned..................................................................................................................................................................................              140
                      4.7.2. Mangrove restoration in El Delgadito, Baja California, Mexico: successful community-based adaptation
                             to climate change ................................................................................................................................................................................................             141
                                    4.7.2.1. Case summary.....................................................................................................................................................................................              141
                                    4.7.2.2. Introduction to the case problem..............................................................................................................................................                                 141
                                    4.7.2.3. Case description ................................................................................................................................................................................              141
                                    4.7.2.4. Limitations and interactions........................................................................................................................................................                           142
                                    4.7.2.5. Lessons learned..................................................................................................................................................................................              142
           4.8. Main knowledge gaps and priority lines of action...........................................................................................................................................                                                 142
           4.9. Conclusions............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 143
         Frequently Asked Questions...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 143
         Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 144
         Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 144

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Chapter 4 – Coastal Marine Ecosystems

Executive Summary                                                 ple, storms and floods, or driven by the effects of sea level
                                                                  rise. Sustainable management of coastal environments (e.g.
                                                                  fisheries and aquaculture) contributes to Ecosystem-based
Ibero-America harbors an extraordinary biological diversi-        Adaptation by enhancing ecosystem functions and services.
ty and the Latin American and Caribbean region is con-
sidered a superpower in terms of biodiversity, with major         Protected marine areas are one of the main mechanisms
long-term economic potential. A significant proportion of         for restoring coastal and marine ecosystems. In regions
this biodiversity is found in the coastal and marine ecosys-      protected for conservation purposes, the recovery of species,
tems of countries belonging to the Ibero-American Network         population abundance and ecosystem functions has been
of Climate Change Offices (RIOCC), including, among others,       achieved through the regulated use of marine and coastal
mangroves, estuaries, marshes, seagrass beds, coral reefs,        organisms. RIOCC countries have a significant proportion of
macro-algae forests, and deep-sea regions.                        coastal marine ecosystems under some form of legal protec-
                                                                  tion, although protection is not actually provided in practice.
Coastal and marine ecosystems of RIOCC countries are
already being affected by direct and indirect human activity      Options are available for climate change adaptation in
and by the effects of climate change. Deforestation, soil         RIOCC countries. These options include the restoration of
conversion for agriculture, shellfish farming, dam construc-      key species and ecosystems for the recovery of ecologi-
tion, large-scale salt mining, and the discharge of polluted      cal functions, reestablishment of species and populations
effluents into the sea, among other stressors, exacerbate         to increase the resilience of coastal marine ecosystems,
impacts associated with climate change on Latin America’s         and Ecosystem-based Adaptation. Projects in several RIOCC
coastal marine environments.                                      countries are focusing on restoring altered ecosystems so
                                                                  that they may contribute to climate change adaptation and
Ocean temperatures are increasing and some of the con-            mitigation. Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture projects
sequences include rising sea levels, changes in the distri-       are also available and these could lead to the recovery of
bution, behavior and reproduction of marine species, and          ecosystem services.
alterations of ocean current patterns. The results of these
                                                                  In order to define local, national and regional adaptation
anthropogenic and climate transformations impact ecosys-
                                                                  actions, further basic research is required to understand
tems by significantly reducing their resistance and resilience,
                                                                  the current state of ecosystems, the ecosystem services
jeopardizing their capacity to provide goods and services,
                                                                  they provide, and their responses to observed and projected
and even leading to the extinction of certain species. Severe
                                                                  future changes. Basic and applied research in RIOCC coun-
impacts on these flows of goods and services for human
                                                                  tries, especially in Latin America and particularly in marine
well-being are expected, such as, reduced economic benefits
                                                                  and coastal environments, requires greater and improved
from the migration of catch species, reduced employment,
                                                                  institutional, governmental and international support. Train-
loss of traditional knowledge of coastal populations, and a
                                                                  ing of professionals in different areas of basic, social, eco-
decline in the social cohesion of coastal communities, ulti-
                                                                  nomic and legal sciences is needed to generate the nec-
mately leading to greater inequality in the region.
                                                                  essary knowledge for maintaining, protecting, conserving,
The impacts of climate change on coastal and marine eco-          restoring, and monitoring marine and coastal ecosystems,
systems in RIOCC countries are apparent in a context of           their species and ecological functions.
pre-existing vulnerability. Vulnerability originates from human
activities that take place around the coastal marine ecosys-
tems (tourism, unplanned urban expansion, pollution from land-
based sources, and the aquaculture boom). These represent
                                                                  4.1. Introduction
a threat to fish populations, corals and mangroves. Some of
these impacts, such as coral bleaching in the Caribbean, have     4.1.1. Conceptual framework
already been observed in the region, especially linked to rises
in temperature and the loss of mangrove cover in Latin Amer-      Coastal marine environments are defined as those located on
ica. Human activities located in low-lying coastal areas of the   the coast with a distinct marine influence, such as estuaries
region also contribute to the increased exposure and vulnera-     and mangroves, as well as the marine environment itself, with
bility of human populations to the effects of climate change,     both pelagic and deeper environments. They include the lower
such as sea level rise, coastal erosion and tidal swells.         end of river watersheds, bays, estuaries and coastal lagoons,
                                                                  rocky areas, beaches, reefs, continental shelves and slopes,
The sustainable and integrated management of coastal              as well as upwelling areas (FAO, 2019). The ecosystem ser-
environments is one of the pillars of Ecosystem-based Adap-       vices provided by these environments are key to achieving the
tation, enabling the enhancement of ecosystem functions           UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG
and services. Ecosystem-based Adaptation is a common              1 (End Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water
practice in marine and coastal areas and is relevant for the      and Sanitation), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth),
management of mangroves, seagrasses, coral reefs and              SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13
sandy beaches. These ecosystems have the natural capac-           (Climate Action), and SDG 14 (Life Below Water) (Sherman and
ity to regulate or mitigate impacts generated by, for exam-       Hamukuaya, 2016; Claudet et al., 2020).

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Chapter 4 – Coastal Marine Ecosystems

      Climate change involves the combined effects of multiple                     most biologically diverse areas in the world, including coast-
      stressors, such as rising sea-surface temperatures, acidifi-                 al marine ecosystems (Bovarnick et al., 2010). The Ibe-
      cation, deoxygenation, and sea-level rise (Figure 4.1). These                ro-American region represented by the countries belonging
      multiple drivers interact in additive, synergistic, neutral or               to the Ibero-American Network of Climate Change Offices
      even counteracting ways. Climate multi-stressors cause dif-                  (RIOCC; http://www.lariocc.es) includes a wide diversity of
      ferent impacts on ecosystems (biodiversity decline, species                  coastal and marine environments, described further below
      migration, functional changes), aggravated by local/regional                 (Table 4.1). Maritime coasts in 19 of the 22 RIOCC coun-
      anthropogenic impacts (eutrophication, urban construction,                   tries exhibit very heterogeneous characteristics, i.e. from
      aquaculture, deforestation, and overfishing).                                tropical to polar environments, and including subtropical and
                                                                                   temperate habitats (Figure 1.12 in Chapter 1). This diversi-
                                                                                   ty extends up along the actual coastal zones and down to
      4.1.2. Key figures on coastal marine                                         deep marine regions, which present heterogeneous hydro-
             ecosystems                                                            graphic and climatic conditions, either regularly exposed to
                                                                                   storms and hurricanes, or completely protected from their
      Latin American and Caribbean countries account for more                      impacts. The differences in coastal geomorphology and
      than 40% of the Earth’s biodiversity and are among the                       hydrographic conditions determine the presence and level

                                                                      Change in sea level

                                                                             Warming

                                                                           Acidification

                                                                        Shift in currents

                                                                             Deoxygenation

        Figure 4.1. Summary of climate-related hazards in coastal marine environments: [1] intertidal areas (coastal lagoons, rocky areas, sandy beaches,
        estuaries, mangroves, and marshes); [2] shallow ecosystems (seagrass beds, coral reefs, rhodolith beds, soft and rocky bottoms); [3] continental
        shelf (plankton, benthic communities, pelagic environments, methane seeps), and [4] deep regions (continental slopes, hydrothermal vents,
        seamounts, abyssal plains, trenches, pelagic environments). The color gradient refers to depth (darker shades represent deeper regions). Source:
        Compiled by the authors.

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Table 4.1. Major tropical, subtropical and temperate coastal marine ecosystems in RIOCC countries. Source: Compiled by the authors from
the sources cited in the table.
            Ecosystem                                           Relevant characteristics                                             References
Sandy beaches and rocky intertidal    Important for turtle nesting and tourism; rocky intertidal areas             Defeo et al., 2009; Cortés, 2016
areas                                 represent habitats for species used for local consumption.
Soft bottoms                          Sedimentary areas and habitats for species of ecological and                 Sibaja-Cordero et al., 2016
                                      commercial interests, such as shrimp and fish.
Mangroves                             Strategic habitats for biodiversity, high productivity, local and            Nava-Escudero, 2008; Polidoro et al.,
                                      commercial fishing resources, erosion control, coastal stabilization and     2010; Martínez et al. 2014; Alongi and
                                      tourism. They act as a carbon sink for greenhouse gases. Thirteen of         Mukhopadhyay, 2015; Herrera-Silveira et al.,
                                      22 RIOCC countries have mangroves with a total area of approximately         2016; Feller et al., 2017; Beck et al., 2018
                                      260,000 km2.
Marshes                               Subtropical and temperate environments of intertidal phanerogams,            Idaskin and Bortolus, 2011
                                      featuring high productivity and biodiversity. Significant environments for
                                      coastal protection and carbon sequestration.
Estuaries and coastal lagoons (also   Estuaries are environments associated with river mouths to the sea,          Medina and Barboza, 2006; Day et al., 2011;
known as albuferas)                   and coastal lagoons are bodies of water isolated or occasionally             Blanco et al., 2012
                                      connected to the sea. They are characterized by a wide gradient of
                                      salinity and temperature, have a high primary productivity, and are
                                      important for fisheries.
Seagrass beds                         Major and extensive shallow ecosystems in the Caribbean Sea,                 Hemminga and Duarte, 2000; Mazarrasa et al.,
                                      formed by marine phanerogams. Highly biodiverse sites, extremely             2015, 2018; Cullen-Unsworth and Unsworth,
                                      productive, assist in the elimination of pathogens and have an               2018
                                      important role in carbon sequestration.
Hard or rocky bottoms                 Hard or rocky bottoms (shallow coastlines typical of high-                   Villasante, 2009; Wahl, 2009; Macho et al.,
                                      energy environments resulting from intense waves and currents)               2013
                                      possessing great biological diversity and high net primary
                                      productivity.
Rhodolith beds                        Formed by calcareous algae that grow in a spherical shape, they              Amado-Filho et al., 2010; Foster et al., 2013;
                                      are considered highly diverse sites and significant as breeding              Cortés et al., 2017
                                      grounds for species that later drift to other marine environments.
Coral Reefs                           The most diverse marine ecosystems. They form barriers for coastal           Birkeland, 2015; Hallock, 2015; Cortés et al.,
                                      protection. are used as artisanal fishing areas and sources of new           2017; Hughes et al., 2017, 2019; Cortés,
                                      chemical-pharmaceutical compounds, and constitute a major attraction         2019a
                                      for tourism in many tropical countries. Corals and reefs contain
                                      excellent paleoclimate records.
Macro-algae forests                   Highly productive intertidal or subtidal ecosystems at high latitudes;       Ríos and Mutshke, 2009; Miller et al., 2018
                                      provide habitat for a great diversity of species. Important for coastal
                                      protection.
Mesophotic regions                    Mesophotic or low light regions, between 50 and 150 m deep; are              Kahng et al., 2014; Cortés, 2019b
                                      being studied as refuges for species displaced by warming of surface
                                      waters.
Pelagic environments                  Extensive open water, neritic regions on the continental shelf and           Da Rocha et al., 2014; Silva et al., 2015
                                      oceanic regions in waters over 200 m deep. Surface zones close to
                                      200 m in the tropics in very clear waters. The world’s main fisheries
                                      operate in neritic regions, especially in upwelling regions, and are
                                      increasingly moving toward deeper areas (tuna, Iberian sardine).
Abyssal trenches and plains           Abyssal trenches and plains are scantly studied environments given           Levin and Le Bris, 2015; Levin et al., 2016;
                                      the difficulties in working at depths of 1,000 meters or more. These         Llatas et al., 2018
                                      areas should be researched and explored, as both fishing and mineral
                                      exploitation is being conducted in increasingly deeper waters; moreover,
                                      the impact of climate change on these areas is little-known.

of development of certain benthic or pelagic communities                           in the diversity and productivity of coastal marine systems
(coral reefs, pelagic fish, among others). The presence of                         due to the continent’s contribution of nutrients (Escobar-Bri-
surface freshwater aquifers and river discharge are some                           ones et al., 2015; Torres-Bejarano and Torres-Marchena,
of the ecological drivers that will also determine changes                         2017; Villamizar and Cervigón, 2017; Canty et al., 2018).

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      In general, land uses in basins that influence the coastal         4.1.3. Coastal marine ecosystems
      zone are also stressors that, in synergy with the impacts of
      climate change, can compromise the health of ecosystems                   and climate change
      and consequently the ecosystem services they provide and,
      ultimately, their resilience and adaptive capacity to climate      The most significant impacts on coasts stemming from the
                                                                         effects of long-term climate change are linked to rising sea
      effects, natural or induced (Deutsch et al., 2007).
                                                                         levels, rise in sea surface temperatures, acidification, chang-
      The coastal region of RIOCC countries extends across 13            es in salinity, waves, tides, and extreme events (Table 4.4).
      biogeographic sub-provinces (Figure 1.12 in Chapter 1), with       These impacts can potentially cause, among other occur-
      a wide diversity of coastal marine ecosystems due to their         rences, erosion and flooding problems, impacts on port,
      climatic, oceanographic and geographic specificities (Milo-        urban, industrial and tourism infrastructure, coral bleaching,
      slavich et al., 2011, 2015) (Table 4.1). The region, which is      and alterations to the flow of sediments and to biodiversity
      large in size and latitudinally wide, covers the 19 countries      (ECLAC, 2012, 2015).
      with marine coasts and presents differentiated character-
                                                                         Since the Second Assessment Report of the Intergovern-
      istics in terms of bathymetry, hydrography, productivity,
                                                                         mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), potential impacts
      oceanographic and climatic processes (FAO, 2012; Botello
                                                                         of climate change on marine and coastal biodiversity have
      et al., 2017). The coastal marine ecosystems existing in this
                                                                         been identified on a global scale (Bijlsma et al., 1996). Sig-
      vast territory have been grouped as tropical (five regions)
                                                                         nificant trends in precipitation and temperature observed in
      or temperate (eight regions), highlighting their ecosystemic
                                                                         Latin America and changes in climate variability and extreme
      diversity, the ecosystem services they provide and sustain,
                                                                         events demonstrate that the coastal region has been severe-
      and providing local and regional examples of select repre-
                                                                         ly affected (Magrin et al., 2014; Bidegain et al., 2018). There
      sentative ecosystems.
                                                                         is evidence for Latin America and the Caribbean of warming
      Of the 22 countries grouped in RIOCC (Figure 1.1 in Chap-          between 0.7°C and 1°C (in the last 30 to 50 years), except
      ter 1), 15 (68.2%) have tropical coastal marine environ-           for the west coast of South America, from Peru to Chile,
      ments in the Tropical Eastern Pacific (Colombia, Costa             where temperatures have cooled by -1°C during the same
      Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico,           period. On the extremely arid coast of northern Chile, rain,
      Nicaragua, Panama and Peru), in Easter Island (Chile), in          temperature and cloudiness show strong inter-annual and
      the Tropical Western Atlantic (Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba,         decadal variability since the mid-1970s (Magrin et al., 2014).
      Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicara-
      gua, Panama and Venezuela), and in the northern Brazilian
      plateau (Brazil and Venezuela). Additionally, 36.4% (8 coun-       4.1.4. Previous IPCC reports
      tries) have coastal marine environments in subtropical or
      temperate zones, such as in the warm temperate Northeast           The IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in
      Pacific (Mexico), the warm temperate Southeast Pacific             a Changing Climate (SROCC) (2019) focuses on climate
      (Chile and Peru), the Magellanic province (Chile and Argen-        change impacts on oceans. The impact of sea level rise is
      tina), the warm temperate Southwest Atlantic (Argentina,           exacerbated by the combination of other climate events (hur-
      Brazil and Uruguay), the warm Northwest Atlantic (Mexico),         ricanes, tidal waves, El Niño) and by the degradation of the
      the Lusitanian province (Spain and Portugal), and the Med-         coastal zone by human activity. This will result in the loss
                                                                         of biodiversity and ecosystem functionality, a reduction in
      iterranean Sea (Spain).
                                                                         the area of mangroves in most cases due to the inability
      A significant proportion of RIOCC countries’ coastal marine        of these ecosystems to migrate inland, and a possible lim-
      environments receive some form of legal protection (OAS,           itation in the resistance and resilience of coastal marine
      2008; De Oliveira-Miranda et al., 2010; Garcia et al.,             ecosystems (IPCC, 2019). The recovery capacity of coastal
      2011; CPPS/UNESCO/CI/Hivos, 2015), which additionally              marine ecosystems will decrease owing to the exposure to
      represents another advantage over climate change. Per-             increasingly intense and recurrent climatic and non-climatic
      centages of protected coastal marine areas vary widely in          impacts. However, it is possible to adapt to such changes
      RIOCC countries (Table 4.2). The fact that coastal marine          by mitigating these impacts through a less destructive use
      territories of RIOCC countries receive some form of protec-        of coastal areas and their ecosystems, protecting existing
      tion translates into a legal condition that could facilitate the   ones, restoring ecosystems, and creating new marine pro-
      inclusion of climate change adaptation measures. More-             tected areas based on scientific evidence (Carr et al., 2019).
      over, there are regional institutions and adaptation and mit-      Another notable issue brought up by the SROCC is the fact
      igation initiatives that have recently increased awareness         that coastal retreat is already occurring in many countries.
      of the importance of the ecosystem services of coastal             In Latin America, coastal retreat has been recorded in Gua-
      marine resources, and the risk that climate change rep-            temala, the Costa Rican Caribbean, and western Colombia.
      resents for their preservation and their economies. Diverse        Saline or brackish water intrusion driven by sea level rise
      initiatives have also emerged aimed at defining adaptation         in combination with tidal waves and human-induced sinking
      and mitigation measures within the RIOCC framework for             leads to an increase in residual salinity, as already recorded
      action (Table 4.3).                                                in the Ebro Delta, Spain (Magnan et al., 2019).

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Table 4.2. Marine protected areas in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula. Sources: Compiled from FAO (2015) and Protect Planet (2018),
and supplemented by the authors.
                                                                           Land and Marine              Marine                            % protected
                            Total Land        Total Marine                                   # of                     % of marine
         Country                                               # of PAs     Protected Area            Protected                           of the entire
                            Area (km2)         Area (km2)                                    MPAs                     area of PAs
                                                                                (km2)                 Area (km2)                          marine area
Argentina                   2,785,328         1,083,151           458             363,373     43       127,462            35,07              11,77
Brazil                      8,529,321         3,672,584          1,515           3,487,114   274       977,793            28,04              26,62
Chile                        759,821          3,657,313           211            1,661,657    33     1,506,502            90,66              41,19
Colombia                    1,141,748           928,680             56            294,282     14       124,737            42,39              13,43
Costa Rica                     51,636           576,110           187              19,055     24          4,802           25,20               0,83
Cuba                         111,643            365,756           105              34,300     57         15,819           46,12               4,33
Dominican Republic           258,139          1,079,901             45            200,105     17       144,125            72,02              13,35
Ecuador                        20,753             94,238          118               2,471      4             665          26,91               0,71
El Salvador                  507,013          1,005,717          1,863            226,517     14         84,220           37,18               8,37
Guatemala                    109,922            118,336           305              23,104      7          1,065            4,61               0,90
Honduras                     113,291            219,971             91             36,204     16          9,144           25,26               4,16
Mexico                      1,965,285         3,284,660           174            1,000,442    63       715,465            71,51              21,78
Nicaragua                    129,222            223,935             72             33,305      8          7,895           23,71               3,52
Panama                         75,498           332,643             89             21,366     43          5,593           26,18               1,68
Peru                        1,298,537           838,330           134             280,809      3          4,037            1,44               0,48
Portugal                       92,141         1,724,156           166             306,689      8       285,588            93,12              16,56
Spain                          48,510           270,774           123              61,352     33         48,625           79,25              17,96
Uruguay                      178,460            130,098             11              7,082      8             932          13,16               0,72
Venezuela                    917,368            473,325           400             513,201     49         16,500            3,21               3,49

Table 4.3. Regional institutions and initiatives for adaptation and mitigation in the coastal marine zone implemented in RIOCC territories. Legend:
CC: Climate Change; SD/SDG: Sustainable Development/Sustainable Development Goals; REDD: Reducing Emissions from Deforestation from
Developing Countries (UN Program); EcoCC: Economics of Climate Change; Biodiv: Biodiversity. The symbol X indicates issues addressed by each
institution. Sources: Compiled by the authors from www.celac.org; www.oei.es/en; www.sica.int; www.oas.org; www.caricom.org; www.aladi.org;
www.parlatino.org; www.unasursg.org; www.oecs.org; www.parlacen.int.
                                         Institution                                          CC      SD/SDG       REDD           EcoCC         Biodiv
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)                                      X          X            X
Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI)                           X
Central American Integration System (SICA)                                                    X          X            X
Alliance for Sustainable Development (ALIDES)                                                            X
Organization of American States (OAS)                                                                    X
Caribbean Community (CARICOM)                                                                 X          X            X             X             X
Latin American Integration Association (LAIA/ALADI)                                                      X
Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (PARLATINO)                                                      X
Union of South American Nations (USAN/UNASUR)                                                 X          X                                        X
Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)                                               X          X            X
Central American Parliament (Parlacen)                                                                                X
Universities and research centers                                                             X          X            X             X             X
ECOMAR Network                                                                                X          X                                        X
National Climate Councils                                                                     X          X            X             X             X

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       Table 4.4. Climate stressors and main extreme events on the region’s coasts. Sources: Compiled by the authors from Peel et al. (2007), Calil
       et al. (2017), Nagy et al. (2018).
                  Country                                         Climate stressors and main extreme events in coastal areas
       Argentina                 El Niño, storms, river flooding, coastal flooding, sea level rise
       Brazil                    El Niño, extra-tropical cyclones, river flooding, sea level rise, ocean acidification
       Chile                     El Niño, river flooding, tidal swells, sea level rise
       Colombia                  El Niño, river flooding, sea level rise, ocean acidification
       Costa Rica                El Niño, storms, river flooding, coastal flooding, sea level rise, ocean acidification
       Cuba                      Hurricanes, storms, sea level rise, ocean acidification
       Dominican Republic        Storms, hurricanes, sea level rise, ocean acidification
       Ecuador                   El Niño, river flooding, coastal flooding, sea level rise, ocean acidification
       El Salvador               El Niño, hurricanes, river flooding, sea level rise, ocean acidification
       Guatemala                 Hurricanes, river flooding, sea level rise, ocean acidification
       Honduras                  Hurricanes, river flooding, sea level rise, ocean acidification
       Mexico                    El Niño, hurricanes, storms, river floods, sea level rise, ocean acidification
       Nicaragua                 Hurricanes, river flooding, sea level rise ocean acidification
       Panama                    El Niño, storms, river flooding, coastal flooding, sea level rise, ocean acidification
       Peru                      El Niño, storms, river floods, sea level rise
       Portugal                  Storms, river floods, sea level rise
       Spain                     Storms, river floods, sea level rise
       Uruguay                   El Niño, storms, river flooding, coastal flooding, sea level rise
       Venezuela                 El Niño, river flooding, sea level rise, ocean acidification

      The SROCC also provides evidence that it is likely that ocean                      fied algae) are particularly sensitive to ocean acidification
      warming has continued in the abyssal zone and in the deep                          and the effects of rising temperatures, sea level rise, and
      ocean below 2000 m, particularly in the southern hemi-                             increased extreme events, making these ecosystems highly
      sphere and the Southern Ocean. There is also increasing evi-                       vulnerable (with low resilience) to further warming scenarios.
      dence that the ocean carbon sink is dynamic on decadal time                        In addition, almost all coral reefs will significantly decline,
      scales, especially in the Southern Ocean, affecting ocean                          even if global warming remains below 2°C. Any coral reef that
      carbon sequestration on a global scale (medium confidence).                        survives to the end of the century will not be the same due
      It is virtually certain that surface ocean pH will decline by                      to irreversible changes in habitat structure and functioning,
      0.036-0.042 or 0.287-0.290 pH units by 2081-2100, rela-                            including species extinctions and food network disturbances;
      tive to 2006-2015, for the RCP 2.6 or RCP 8.5 scenarios,                           these changes are already occurring (Hughes et al., 2017).
      respectively. These pH changes are very likely to cause the                        Conversely, ecosystems with strong influences of physical
      Southern Oceans to become corrosive for the major mineral                          factors (e.g., sediment accretion and subsidence) present
      forms of calcium carbonate under RCP 8.5, but these chang-                         no change in their vulnerability to sea level rise, suggesting
      es are avoidable under the RCP 2.6 scenario (Bindoff et al.,                       a strong resilience in some coastal ecosystems. However,
      2019). Recent evidence suggests that mesophilic coral reefs                        in areas such as the Caribbean, mangroves cannot exceed
      will be affected by ocean acidification. All coastal ecosys-                       current rates of sea level rise and may disappear. The tran-
      tems will be at high to very high risk by the end of the 21st                      sition to new states by unpredictable pulses of progressive
      century under the RCP 8.5 scenario, especially coral reefs                         climate disturbances and hazards will have adverse impacts
      (transitioning from high to very high risk 0.6-1.2°C), seagrass                    on ecosystem services (Bindoff et al., 2019).
      beds (2.2-3.0°C), kelp forests (2.2-2.8°C) and rocky shores
      (2.9-3.4°C). These ecosystems have low or moderate adap-                           Adaptation responses to climate change are most effec-
      tive capacity, rendering them highly sensitive to ocean warm-                      tive when developed within institutional frameworks that
      ing, sea heat waves, and acidification. For example, kelp                          include effective planning and inter-sectoral integration. Evi-
      forests and seagrass beds will continue to decline with more                       dence-based decision making for climate adaptation is strong-
      frequent extreme temperatures and their low dispersal capac-                       ly supported in the literature by an enhanced understanding
      ity will increase the risk of local extinction. Shallow biogenic                   of coastal ecosystems and human adaptation responses,
      reefs with calcified organisms (e.g., corals, mussels, calci-                      as well as the consideration of non-climate change drivers.

130   RIOCCADAPT REPORT
Chapter 4 – Coastal Marine Ecosystems

Relevant research includes participatory planning, cross-bor-    impacts such as eutrophication, have led to an expansion of
der ocean management, and ecosystem-based and com-               anoxic regions and increased hypoxia in oceans, while the
munity-based adaptation. Fresh knowledge of climate and          dissolution of CO2 in the oceans is lowering the pH (ocean
non-climate variables in coastal adaptation planning could       acidification). This change in ocean chemistry impacts living
substantially improve planning, implementation and monitor-      organisms, altering their calcification, life cycles, and behav-
ing of climate adaptation responses for marine systems, if       ior (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007; Baker at al., 2008; Vergara,
research processes are participatory and inclusive.              2009; Gatusso and Hansson, 2011; Schmidtko et al., 2017;
                                                                 Palter et al., 2018; Hughes et al., 2019).
Integrated adaptation planning in many countries is under-
mined by uncoordinated, top-down approaches, lack of polit-      There is evidence indicating that sea level change and non-cli-
ical will, insufficient resources and access to information.     mate stressors generate hazards to fisheries, corals, man-
Successful adaptation frameworks include: a robust but flex-     groves, tourism and recreation, and disease control in the
ible approach that takes into account the increasing uncer-      coastal region (Olivo et al., 2012; Godoy and de Lacerda,
tainty; well-coordinated participatory processes; and well-de-   2015). Sea level change is largely due to the thermal expan-
veloped monitoring systems that adopt a complete systems         sion of water and the inflow of water from the continents as
approach, identifying additional benefits for human develop-     a result of glacier and polar ice melting. Sea levels are rising
ment and the environment. The literature on coastal adap-        rapidly, from 1.4 mm per year in the 1901-1990 period to
tation is less studied in Africa and in the Caribbean. Unlike    3.2 mm per year between 1993 and 2015, and 3.6 mm per
many examples of proposed frameworks for climate-resilient       year in the 2005-2015 period (IPCC, 2019). In Latin America
coastal adaptation, few studies have assessed their suc-         and the Caribbean, sea level change has been increasing
cess, possibly due to the delay between implementation,          from 2 to 7 mm per year over the past 60 years (Magrin et
monitoring, evaluation and reporting. More effective coordi-     al., 2014). Recurrent episodes of coral bleaching linked to
nation among relevant actors and stakeholders, within and        ocean warming and acidification have also been recorded
between organizations, especially in developing countries,       along the Caribbean and Colombian Pacific coasts (Rojas
would strengthen the global response to coastal adaptation       Higuera and Pabón-Caicedo, 2015), in the Mesoamerican
(Oppenhaimer et al., 2019).                                      coral reef corridor, and in the southern Caribbean (Villamizar
                                                                 and Cervigón, 2017). However, available information on sea
                                                                 level change in the region is limited, lacking sufficiently long

4.2. Components of climate                                       series, except in Buenos Aires and Montevideo; therefore,
                                                                 predicting its actual impact is difficult (Nagy et al., 2019).

     change risk in coastal
     marine environments                                         4.2.2. Exposure
                                                                 Most of the region’s coastal areas are exposed to climate
4.2.1. Hazards                                                   change, ENSO variability, and extreme weather events (sea
                                                                 level rise, tidal waves and waves). Because of their geo-
Rising ocean temperatures modify the distribution of marine      graphical location, the risk is higher in low-elevation coastal
species and cause rising sea levels (IPCC, 2014; Uribe-Bote-     zones (LECZ), including ecosystems, cities and infrastructure
ro, 2015; Villamizar and Cervigón, 2017). The combination        (Villamizar et al., 2017; Calil et al., 2017; Nagy et al., 2019).
of these drivers adversely affects megadiverse ecosystems        Due to these hazards to coastal marine ecosystems, coastal
such as coral reefs, clearly manifested through coral bleach-    environments and their ecosystem services, coastal human
ing and diseases in reef species. Changes also affect the        populations and economic activity will be affected. Coastal
structure and function of kelp forests (Bas Ventín et al.,       marine ecosystems supply a series of services including
2015) and increase the likelihood of toxic algal blooms (Ama-    food supply, water purification, wave protection, and rec-
do-Filho et al., 2010; Cróquer et al., 2018; Outeiro et al.,     reation. The loss of these ecosystem services will impact
2018). The years 2005 and 2010, recognized by the NOAA           coastal communities through coastal erosion, salinization
as the hottest years in recent decades in the Caribbean, saw     of aquifers, loss of landscape, safe docking, and changes
bleaching events affecting coral reefs (Eakin et al., 2010;      in fisheries. These effects will impact other economic areas
Cróquer et al., 2018). Most of the coral reefs in Morrocoy       such as tourism and fishing, jeopardizing the well-being of
National Park and Los Roques (two of the most important          individuals, communities, regions and countries of RIOCC.
coastal marine protected areas in Venezuela) were affected
in the 2005 event, however, “they eventually recovered, with-
out the stress period ending in mass mortalities” (Villamizar    4.2.3. Vulnerability
et al., 2014).
                                                                 An ecosystem’s vulnerability is determined by its likelihood
Changes in temperature and salinity are causing alterations      of experiencing climate change impacts and its resilience,
in current patterns, which will affect the dispersion and dis-   which determine how, and how quickly, it recovers from these
tribution of species. These changes, along with direct human     impacts (IPCC, 2014). The resilience and resistance of natu-

                                                                                                      RIOCCADAPT REPORT 131
Chapter 4 – Coastal Marine Ecosystems

      ral systems, in turn, enhance their capacity of autonomous           Table 4.5. Ranking of RIOCC countries in the Global Ocean Health
      adaptation (Klein and Nicholls, 1999). Human intervention,           Index. A lower ranking indicates healthier seas. Source: Compiled by the
      particularly through integrated coastal zone management              authors from http://www.oceanhealthindex.org; revised June 24, 2019.
      and adaptation measure planning, can improve ecosystems’
      capacities to respond to and recover from the impacts of                           Country                              Ranking
      extreme climate events, as well as to adapt to changing              Portugal                                              25
      local conditions (BIOMARCC-SINAC-GIZ, 2013). In bioregional          Chile                                                 54
      conservation approaches, the emphasis in prioritizing pro-
                                                                           Cuba                                                  87
      tected areas for in situ conservation lies on the representa-
      tion of relevant ecosystem samples to ensure their perma-            Ecuador                                               65
      nence over time (Miller, 1996; Andrade et al., 2011). In the         Argentina                                             93
      case of climate change, representativeness and ecosystem             Mexico                                                97
      conservation as criteria for the creation of protected areas
      should be supplemented by approaches such as the search              Spain                                                104
      for redundancy in the representation, as permanence will be          Brazil                                               124
      affected in many ecosystems, particularly in coastal zones.          Honduras                                             125
      The resilience to climate impacts of protected areas is deter-
                                                                           Dominican Republic                                   129
      mined by the adaptive capacity of species and their connec-
      tivity in landscapes and seascapes (Barber et al., 2004).            Panama                                               132

      The vulnerability of built structures depends on society’s           Uruguay                                              146
      intrinsic ability to prevent, live or cope with climate change       Costa Rica                                           154
      impacts, in particular its capacity for adapting at the same         Venezuela                                            171
      rate as the natural systems on which they depend (Klein and
                                                                           Guatemala                                            181
      Nicholls, 1999; Klein et al., 1999). These local development
      conditions are determined by the population’s socio-econom-          Peru                                                 188
      ic and health circumstances, its local environment (acces-           Colombia                                             192
      sibility, employment, environmental quality), and the local          El Salvador                                          203
      institutional capacities to provide continuity of public services
      (Retana et al., 2017). Therefore, to a large extent, priorities      Nicaragua                                            219
      for adaptation in coastal areas must be defined taking into
      account the limitations and potential of the local context.
      Adverse coastal and marine impacts and vulnerability lead           The fourth IPCC report (IPCC, 2007) observed, and the Spe-
      to losses that pose significant challenges and costs to soci-       cial Report on Oceans and Cryosphere (IPCC, 2019) later
      eties, particularly in developing countries (Hoegh-Guldberg         reaffirmed, with a high level of confidence, that some unique
      and Bruno, 2010). For example, the Ocean Health Index               and threatened systems are already at risk from climate
      (Halpern et al., 2012) measures the integration and health          change and that this risk will increase if additional warming
      of the human-ocean system for each country and includes             of around 1°C occurs. The situation will be graver still for
      parameters related to climate change. The index includes key        many species and systems with limited adaptive capacity,
      elements of ocean health: biological, physical, economic and        i.e. coral reefs (Wang et al., 2017). The SROCC also warns
      social, for the purpose of informing decisionmakers on how          that the risk level of serious impacts on biodiversity and the
      to manage ocean sustainably (http://www.oceanhealthindex.           structure and function of coastal ecosystems will be higher
      org). Values of RIOCC countries range from very favorable,          due to increased temperatures associated with higher emis-
      e.g. Portugal, to very unfavorable, e.g. some Central Ameri-        sion scenarios (~1760 ppm CO2 RCP 8.5), compared to lower
      can countries (Table 4.5).                                          emission scenarios projected for the 21st century (~490
                                                                          ppm CO2 RCP 2.6). Sea level projections display regional
                                                                          differences around the global average level. Processes such
                                                                          as local sinking caused by natural phenomena and human
      4.3. Characterization of risks                                      activities are important for relative sea level changes on the
                                                                          coast. While the relative importance of climate-driven sea
           and their impacts                                              level rise is expected to increase over time, there is a need
                                                                          to consider local processes within sea level projections and
      In addition to the observations outlined in Section 4.1.3, cli-     impacts. Lack of continuity in public management, fluctua-
      mate risk in coastal areas is also the outcome of a combination     tions in national economies, dependence on fossil fuels and
      of biophysical drivers with socio-cultural, economic and institu-   accelerated urban growth in Latin America and the Caribbean
      tional drivers that can generate major and permanent impacts        have complicated the consolidation of effective environmen-
      on marine life and on the well-being of human populations that      tal management of the coastal zone. As a result, the risk
      live in and depend on healthy ecosystems for their livelihood.      of loss of biodiversity and key ecosystems for the provi-

132   RIOCCADAPT REPORT
Chapter 4 – Coastal Marine Ecosystems

sion of ecosystem services increases, both inside and out-         cover, permafrost and fresh/marine water, with effects on
side coastal protected areas (Yerena et al., 2018). Climate        the quality of habitat, areas of distribution, phenology and
change is expected to be a significant driver to further deg-      productivity of species, as well as on their dependent econ-
radation of most coastal ecosystems, biodiversity and eco-         omies, which will affect the southern regions of the South
system services in Latin America and the Caribbean (IPBES,         American continent (IPCC, 2014).
2018), resulting in an adaptation deficit for coastal areas in
                                                                   Potential impacts on Latin America and the Caribbean include
the region (Nagy et al., 2019). On the other hand, it is esti-
                                                                   floods linked to sea level change for which the probabili-
mated that 100 to 300 million people living in coastal areas
                                                                   ty of flooding is estimated to be higher in locations show-
worldwide will face greater risks due to the loss of protection
                                                                   ing > 40% change over the last 60 years in total sea level
provided by marine and coastal ecosystems (IPBES, 2018).
                                                                   (not including hurricanes); beach erosion in locations where
In terms of the coastal and marine resources of RIOCC coun-        potential sediment transport and seaports have increased;
tries, the recent warning of risks associated with a rise in the   and threaten the reliability of coastal structures (Magrin et
average temperature of the planet above 1.5°C, as reported         al., 2014). For Latin America, climate change risks for coastal
by the IPCC (2018), anticipates a greater hazard. Not exceed-      marine environments will be exacerbated by pollution, land
ing 1.5°C is conditioned by the greenhouse gas emissions           use, flooding, erosion and urban, industrial and tourist devel-
trajectory and, consequently, by the economic development          opments emerging along the region’s coasts (Magrin et al.,
model that the global society decides to follow. Keeping the       2014). Among climate change-related risks, there are con-
rise in temperature below 1.5°C would mean a slower sea lev-       cerns about the increase in coral bleaching in the Caribbean
el rise rate that would allow for greater opportunities for the    (Bastidas et al., 2012), coupled with an evident limitation of
adaptation of ecosystems in small island territories, low-lying    corals for autonomous genetic adaptation. A sharp degrada-
coastal areas and deltas, while at the same time offering a        tion of mangroves, wetlands, corals and seagrasses in the
greater likelihood of managing and restoring natural coast-        region’s island territories and in continental South America
al ecosystems and strengthening infrastructure. Hazards            has direct effects on their economies (Villamizar et al., 2016;
include changes in the distribution patterns of many marine        Wilson, 2017; ECLAC, 2018; Gaines et al., 2019; Murray et
species at higher latitudes and increased damage to many           al., 2019). The degradation of groundwater and freshwater
ecosystems, as well as further declines of coastal resources       ecosystems due to saline intrusion from sea level change
and reduced productivity of fishing and aquaculture (espe-         also poses a risk, in addition to degradation due to pollution
cially at low latitudes). Coral reefs are projected to shrink      and groundwater extraction (Carson et al., 2016).
their live coral cover by 70-90% at 1.5°C, with higher losses
                                                                   Impacts generated from non-climate stressors that compromise
(> 99%) at 2°C. Record temperatures in 2015-2016 led to the
                                                                   the health and existence of coastal ecosystems in Latin Ameri-
largest coral bleaching episode since mass bleaching was
                                                                   ca and the Caribbean include the loss of mangroves as a result
documented in the 1980s (Hughes et al., 2017). Some indig-
                                                                   of deforestation and the conversion of soils for agriculture and
enous peoples and local communities that depend on agricul-
                                                                   shrimp farming (FAO, 2016). In Ecuador, for example, between
ture or coastal livelihoods represent the most disadvantaged
                                                                   2008 and 2014, 47,000 hectares (ha) of mangrove forests
and vulnerable populations, with a disproportionately higher
                                                                   were converted to other uses, mainly agriculture. The coun-
risk of adverse consequences with a global warming of 1.5°C
                                                                   try’s Ministry of the Environment stated that the figure is high;
(Allison et al., 2009; IPCC, 2018; 2019).
                                                                   however, deforestation has been reduced by 49% (MAE, 2014).
According to projections from integrated climate models            In Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, nearly a
(IPCC, 2014), known as Representative Concentration Path-          third of the population lives in coastal areas directly exposed to
ways (RCPs), by mid-century it will be feasible to detect the      climate events. In Nicaragua and Honduras, a high percentage
global redistribution of marine species and the reduction          of households use firewood for cooking; the largest amount of
of marine biodiversity in vulnerable regions, which would          firewood is extracted from the mangrove, and according to the
adversely impact fishing productivity and other ecosystem          FAO (2015) approximately 120,000 m3 of wood is extracted
services. Spatial relocation of marine species due to project-     per year for firewood in both countries. In Venezuela, the con-
ed warming will lead to invasions at high latitudes and high       struction of dams and large-scale salt mining within protected
rates of local extinction in the tropics and semi-enclosed         coastal areas has resulted in the diversion of freshwater flow
seas. The progressive expansion of areas with low oxygen           to the mangrove, a habitat of the endangered coastal caiman
levels and anoxic “dead zones” will further limit fish habitat     (Crocodylus acutus) (Villamizar, 2003; Rodríguez et al., 2010;
(Breitburg et al., 2018). A total of 400 areas of hypoxia in       Nagy et al., 2019). In Galicia (Spain), pollution from agricultur-
the seas have been reported worldwide, generating dead             al activities and the construction of reservoirs are causing a
zones covering more than 245,000 km2 (IPBES 2018). Net             reduction in the abundance of key commercial species (slimy,
primary production in the high seas will be redistributed          fine and blonde clams) for the development of shellfish pick-
and, by 2100, will decrease globally in all RCP scenarios          ing, an activity that provides direct employment to more than
(IPCC, 2014). By 2100, ocean primary productivity will have        4,500 women in the region, the highest figure in Europe (Pita
declined by 3-10% and marine fish biomass will be reduced          et al., 2019). Table 4.6 presents examples of threatened eco-
by 3-25% due to climate change (IPBES, 2018). Key risks            systems, climate change-related impacts, vulnerabilities, and
include those stemming from changes in ice conditions, snow        risks in select RIOCC countries.

                                                                                                         RIOCCADAPT REPORT 133
134
                    Table 4.6. Examples of threatened ecosystems, climate change-related impacts, vulnerabilities, and risks in select RIOCC countries. Source: Compiled by the authors from various sources.
                    Country/Source          Threatened ecosystems                           Impacts                                  Vulnerabilities                                         Risks
                    Argentina           Lower Paraná River Delta             Due to rising sea levels: flooding        Hydrological and climatic regulation         Susceptible to industrial, urban and agricultural
                    Wetlands            (Insular; advancing delta front).    and displacement of wetlands and          (floods); carbon sinks; livelihood of        pollution; erosion and marshalling; change in

RIOCCADAPT REPORT
                    International and                                        low coasts; coastline erosion and         fishermen; livelihood of reed gatherers      communities due to rising sea levels; fires; loss of
                    DCCSADS (2010)                                           retreat and increased storm flooding;     and otter hunters; water supply for urban    biodiversity due to land-use modifications; invasion of
                                                                             increased salinity in estuaries and       areas; biogeographical and ecological        non-native species; alteration of local water regime due
                                                                             hazard to aquifers; alteration of tidal   specificities; relevant species for          to the construction of canals and dikes.
                                                                             range in rivers and bays; alteration      conservation (marsh deer, dusky-legged
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Chapter 4 – Coastal Marine Ecosystems

                                                                             of sedimentation patterns; and            Guan, giant otter); beekeeping activities
                                                                             reduced amount of light received by       (native flora).
                                                                             the seabed.
                    Colombia            Cartagena Bay                        Loss of numerous islands and              Presence of living corals on Isla Arena,     Increased exposure of the coastline and low-tide lands
                    Andrade Armaya      (Natural systems protecting the      extensive mangrove areas.                 west of Pueblo Nuevo, Bolívar, where         of Cartagena to systematic, gradual and constant
                    et al. (2017)       coastline).                                                                    coral communities are growing despite        flooding, much faster than the global average, as a
                                                                                                                       adverse conditions of high sedimentation     result of sea level rise due to global warming and land
                                                                                                                       associated with materials brought by the     subsidence.
                                                                                                                       Magdalena River.
                    Costa Rica          Térraba-Sierpe Delta                 Significant changes in the river-         Meander channels in which mangrove           Rising sea levels threaten to increase the erosion rate
                    Acuña-Piedra and    (Aquifers, groundwater, beach        marine system morphology.                 vegetation prevails.                         of coastal bars, constant geomorphological processes
                    Quesada-Román       texture, mangroves, fisheries,                                                                                              alternating with sedimentation in this deltaic system
                    (2016)              biodiversity).                                                                                                              over the last six decades, due to climate variability and
                                                                                                                                                                    changes in land use in the basins that feed coastal
                                                                                                                                                                    dynamics.
                    El Salvador         MAP Los Cóbanos, home to El          Reef ecosystems are being                 Two coral bleaching events of considerable   Increase in temperature and variability of accumulated
                    Chicas-Batres et    Salvador’s single coral reef.        monitored by the Coral and Rock           intensity occurred simultaneously with the   annual precipitation recorded in the country, compared
                    al. (2015)          Other threatened coastal             Reef Program, carried out by the          high temperature caused by the El Niño       to recent decades.
                                        ecosystems along the country’s       Institute of Marine Sciences and          phenomenon (2014 and 2015, between           Increase in saline intrusion in certain locations in
                                        coast: estuaries, coastal            Limnology (ICMARES), Universidad de       80%-100% respectively of the surface of      the coastal zone, due to the lack of plant cover, the
                                        lagoons, mangroves, sandy            El Salvador.                              the colonies, and a loss of coverage of      emptying of aquifers and reduced land drainage.
                                        and rocky beaches, near-shore                                                  about 10% in 2014).
                                        agricultural crops.
                    Guatemala           South Pacific Coast.                 Region constantly affected by floods      Firewood extraction, coal processing,        Traditional agricultural export activities may present
                    Government          Aquaculture, agriculture, fishing,   and river overflows.                      construction materials, and gathering of     conflicting interests and disagreements over the
                    of Guatemala        mangroves, pastures, wetlands.                                                 coast-related fauna-derived products.        conservation of biodiversity in the coastal zone.
                    (2011)
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