International Journal of Aquaculture, 2025, Vol.15, No.2, 67-75 http://www.aquapublisher.com/index.php/ija 72 Figure 2 Coral responses to thermal stress at different temporal and biological scales (Adopted from Van Woesik et al., 2022) 7.2 The role and potential negative impacts of ecotourism on coral reef conservation Ecotourism can also help protect corals. When tourists come, they will bring income and will allow more people to understand the importance of coral reefs. For example, the “Reefscapers Project” in the Maldives and the “New Paradise Coral Reef Conservation Program” in Thailand have helped rehabilitate coral reefs, which not only saves costs but also improves restoration efficiency (Hein et al., 2018). However, if the management is not good, too many tourists will also cause trouble. It’s like trampling on corals, throwing garbage, and even destroying local culture. Sometimes tourism companies ignore ecological protection in order to make money (Lachs and Oñate-Casado, 2019). Therefore, sustainable tourism should be promoted. On the one hand, we must reduce the damage to the environment, and on the other hand, we must let everyone learn something and bring economic benefits through tourism. 7.3 Balancing sustainable development and coral reef resource management Balancing sustainable development with coral reef resource management requires a strategic approach that takes into account ecological and socioeconomic factors into consideration. The coexistence of fisheries and tourism is crucial to maintaining local livelihoods and protecting coral reefs. Strategies such as ecosystem management (EBM) and adaptive co-management can help achieve this balance, meeting conservation needs and promoting socio-economic goals such as employment security and cultural protection (Kleypas et al., 2021). Marine space planning (MSP) and the establishment of marine protected areas can manage human activities and protect critical coral reef areas, as demonstrated by the experience of successful integration of conservation and human activities in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Bellwood et al., 2019). These approaches emphasize that alignment of development goals with conservation priorities is critical to ensuring long-term sustainability of coral reef ecosystems. 8 Future Directions and Prospects for Coral Reef Conservation 8.1 Strengthening international cooperation and cross-regional protection measures Coral reefs are distributed in the waters of many different countries. To truly protect them, cooperation among countries is important. Now, many places have begun to establish marine protected areas (MPAs). The global goal is to protect at least 30% of marine areas by 2030 (Wilkins et al., 2021). But in reality, some MPAs are short of money or are not strict in management, and the results are not ideal. Therefore, cross-border cooperation is even more important, and it can help solve problems such as funding, law enforcement, and technology. In addition,
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