World Animal Foundation
in the interest of animals...
Search Our Site
Coral Reefs
Rainforest of the Sea
Coral reefs, rainforest of the sea, are one of nature's most remarkable creations - teaming with thousands of unique and valuable plants and animals. More than one-quarter of all marine species depend on coral reefs for their survival. Humans depend on the survival of coral reefs too. Coral reefs are the primary source of income for millions of people, produce valuable chemicals for medicinal purposes, and provide a natural wave barrier which protects beaches and coastlines from storms and floods.
Coral reefs have existed on our planet for over 50 million years, but recently we have lost over 20% of the world's reefs in just the last 20 years. Up to 70% of the reefs may be destroyed by humans in the next few decades if we don't take immediate action.
The biologists have seen the future, and their
message could not be clearer: Living coral reefs
are the foundation of marine life, and thus a crucial
support for human life, yet all over the world they
are dead or dying because people are destroying
them, killing them at a catastrophic rate. Already 10 percent are lost, and scientists say 70 percent of all corals on the planet will be destroyed in 20 to 40 years unless people stop doing what they're doing: pollution, sewage, erosion, cyanide fishing, clumsy tourism, and get serious about saving the coral reefs now. There's hope yet: Reefs are resilient and they bounce back quickly when protected.
Protection is the real solution and it's ordinary
people who are making it happen. Government efforts
in much of the world have been frankly pathetic: late,
weak, underfunded, unenforced. Persian Gulf oil states
pass useless pollution laws then ignore them. Indian
Ocean poachers outwit and outnumber British Royal Navy patrols. Ecuador stalls for decades while tourism explodes in the delicate Galapagos, only to enact a plan that makes it worse. The status quo scarcely wavers: relentless destruction of coral reefs. In those bright spots where people are changing the way they treat the reefs, you'll find fishermen, students, divers, biologists, concerned citizens of all stripes transformed into activists and volunteers, taking matters into their own hands to protect the coral reefs that are dear to them and vital to us all.
 | ||||
ADOPT AN ANIMAL
WAF FACT SHEETS
