Why coral reefs matter

“Diving a coral reef is like diving into the history of life on Earth”

Sylvia Earle, global ambassador for the oceans, is better placed than most to judge the state of the world’s coral reefs. She has spent her life in and around the oceans and seen first hand the changes we are inflicting on them. In this video, she talks about the importance of coral reefs and why, if we act now, it’s not too late to save them.

(Learn more: Sylvia Earle – My wish)

– Reef-related tourism is the lifeblood of many countries, particularly small island nations which may have few other reliable sources of income;

 

– There is a growing recognition that coral reefs and the animals they attract are a far more valuable resource when they are protected;

 

– Coral reefs, like tropical rainforests, may hold the key to new scientific and medical discoveries just waiting to be made – an amazing new painkiller, a previously unknown cure for a disease.

 

Wherever you are on the planet, you can have an impact on corals and coral reefs. These fragile ecosystems are not just the concern of the hundreds of millions of people who live on and around them and depend on them for their livelihoods. They matter to all of us! Biodiversity matters, and coral reefs are some of the most biodiverse places on the planet.

 

 

 

According to Reefs at risk revisited:

 

– A healthy reef in the Indian or Pacific ocean can yield between 5 and 15 tons of seafood per square kilometre.

 

– Coral reefs protect more than 150,000 km of shoreline in over 100 countries and territories around the world.

 

– At least 94 countries and territories benefit from reef-related tourism which, in some of these, provides more than 15% of GDP.