264
WORLD ATLAS OF CORAL REEFS
continues below sea level, re-emerging to form a number
of small islands north of the Andaman Islands (India).
There is a wide level area of coastal plain in the center
of the country, dominated by the Ayeyarwady (formerly
Irrawaddy) river delta, a large sediment-laden river
associated with relatively rapid coastal progradation. In
the southeast the coastal plain is again narrow, backed by
the Tenasserim Range of mountains. Offshore there are
two major island groups: the Moscos Islands to the north
and the vast complex of islands forming the Mergui
Archipelago in the south.
There is remarkably little information in the scientific
literature describing the reef communities of this country,
but it seems likely that those on the nearshore islands in
Thailand
Myanmar
Cambodia
General Data
Population (thousands!
61 231
41 735
12212
GDP (million US$1
136 773
33 665
1
187
Land area (km^l
515 139
669 813
182 602
Marine area (thousand km^l
252
513
20
Per capita fish consunnption
(kg/year)
33
17
9
Status and Threats
Reefs at risk (%l
96
77
100
Recorded coral diseases
Biodiversity
Reef area (knn^l
2 130
1 870
<50
Coral diversity
238 / 428
77/277
na/337
Mangrove area (km^l
2 641
3 786
851
No. of mangrove species
35
24
5
No. of seagrass species
15
-WW
3
1
Snapper taking shelter among mangroves at high tides. Myanmar's Mergui Archipelago includes important areas of
relatively undisturbed reef and mangrove.