What can I do to help protect coral reefs?
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall
Even if you’re not lucky enough to live near a coral reef, there are a lot of things YOU can do to help protect them. Simple actions in our daily lives, combined, can have a big impact. If you love corals, you can contribute to making sure they are still here for future generations to enjoy in different ways:
Donate – Help us to support projects that are making a real difference to conserve coral reefs around the world. Contact info@synchronicityearth.org to find out more about any of the projects shown on our Coral Reef Projects page.
Lifestyle – corals face many threats, but some of the most severe are the result of the oceans heating up, becoming more acidic and gradually filling up with plastic and other forms of pollution. Learn more below about some of the simple, everyday actions you can take to help reduce this impact.
Tourism – There are two ways you can contribute if you are lucky enough to visit a place which has accessible coral reefs. First, if you visit a coral reef and go snorkelling of diving, make sure you always respect the rules. Second, by choosing destinations that are practising responsible tourism, looking to protect their reefs and educate their guests, you can help them to be successful and persuade others that corals are worth more alive and flourishing than dead.
Sources of inspiration
Visit www.marinesafe.org for some tips on how you can make a difference by, for example, cutting down on the amount of plastic you use, or using personal care products which do not contain ingredients that are toxic to marine environments.
If you eat seafood, make sure it’s sustainable. Try the Good Fish Guide to learn more about the best seafood choices you can make. This World Wildlife Fund page on sustainable fish choices has information for many different countries around the world.
If you’re a keen diver or snorkeler, there are some common sense rules you should make sure you follow when you are in, or under the water. Green Fins has a list of guidelines for scuba divers. Or watch the short video on the right:
The Reefs at Risk Revisted Report, published by the World Resources Institute in 2011, contains some excellent advice to help individuals take more care of coral reefs. The extract below is divided into advice for those living near reefs, people who occasionally visit them as tourists and people who live nowhere near them.