Fifteen years ago, the waters around Islas Marietas in Mexico’s Nayarit State were so abundant with corals that people could see them for miles.
They were hard to avoid, too. “To go and surf in that area, you would have to wear tennis shoes because it was full of coral mountains,” said Javier Alvarez, a tourist operator and owner of outdoors shops from Puerto Vallarta, the nearest mainland city.
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a World Heritage site, is one of the most iconic coral reefs. But it’s in serious trouble due to bleaching: a new Australian Government report has officially downgraded the reef’s outlook from poor to very poor.
Insurance payments for restoring a coral reef after it has been smashed by a hurricane may seem a bit far-fetched. Nevertheless, this is one of a raft of measures being proposed for the world’s second largest reef.
The Reef-World Foundation—the international coordinator of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Green Fins initiative—is reminding tourists of the huge environmental impact their actions can have and is calling on people to protect coral reefs by following a few simple guidelines.
In Onna Village in Okinawa, Japan, a coral reef is never far away. It is only a short stroll to the water from most parts of the self-styled “Village of Coral”. At the shoreline, the dusky forms of the reef are almost always visible through the shimmering blue-green coastal water.
Did you know that coral reefs provide a home that supports more than a quarter of all marine life? Corals are much more than just beautiful to watch. They provide important ecosystem services to people and planet. Yet they are under threat of near extinction if we don’t act now. For 2020's #WorldWildLifeDay, the United Nations Environment Programme created special materials to call attention to the role corals play for climate action.
The world is figuring out how to move forward in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic by finding newer ways to support economic development, animal and human well being, and ecosystem integrity.
