Résumé
Climate change constitutes a new threat to the sustainability of coral ecosystems. The vulnerability of a coral ecosystem to climate-related hazards can greatly increase when it suffers from chronic anthropogenic disturbances (wastewater discharges, eutrophication). These indeed reduce the ability of coral reefs to withstand these hazards (resistance) and their potential to recover their initial condition (resilience) in case of very impacting hazards. Therefore, there is a risk of an amplifier feedback loop snapping in place with an endpoint of a crippling loss of resilience of coral formations and eventually the disappearance of most of them. Reducing such an amplifier feedback loop should be one of the main objectives of the coral coastal management in order to build new human/coral reef societies coviability to face climate change. Reconsidering the strategies of the creation of marine protected areas fits into this framework. This requires a focus on reef connectivity, resistance and resilience of species and species assemblages.