Coral rubble remains after “chopper” boats killed branching corals, which were subsequently further broken up by storm waves of blast fishing.
John McManus/Rosenstiel School, University of Miami
Just over a month ago, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued two important rulings. One soundly rejected Beijing’s extensive claim of sovereignty in the South China Sea. The other focused on whether China had caused environmental damage as it constructed artificial islands in the region to help prop up its claim.

The South China Sea’s disputed waters are claimed by seven countries, and The Hague rulings came in response to a case brought against China by the Philippines. China dismissed The Hague’s decision as “nothing but a scrap of paper.”

But Kent Carpenter, a professor of biological science at Old Dominion University and an expert witness for the tribunal, says The Hague tribunal’s findings were nothing short of damning.

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/09/01/491395715/one-result-of-chinas-buildup-in-south-china-sea-environmental-havoc