Reefs at risk revisited

By Lauretta Marie Burke

Subjects: Endangered ecosystems, Coral reef ecology, Coral reefs and islands, Biology

Description: Eventy-five percent of the world's coral reefs are currently threatened by local and global pressures, according to this comprehensive analysis released by the World Resources Institute, along with the Nature Conservancy, the WorldFish Center, the International Coral Reef Action Network, Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Center, and a network of more than 25 partner organizations, including NOAA. For the first time, the analysis includes threats from climate change, including warming seas and rising ocean acidification. The most immediate and direct threats arise from local sources, which currently threaten more than 60% of coral reefs. Local threats include impacts from fishing, coastal development, and pollution. Left unchecked, the percent of threatened reefs will increase to more than 90% by 2030 and to nearly all reefs by 2050.