CHASING CORAL

With the world having lost 14 per cent of its coral reefs in just one decade, a marine devastation seems imminent. But there may be some hope yet

- KIRAN PANDEY

CORALS REEFS are dying, and they are dying fast. This is the finding of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), a network of scientists and organisations that monitor the underwater ecosystems. In its report, “Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2020”, released after a gap of 13 years, the network estimates that the world has lost about 14 per cent of its coral reefs in the past decade.

This is the sixth edition of the report, and the first since 2008. It is based on the quantitative analysis of a global dataset compiled from raw monitoring data of more than 300 members, spanning over four decades from 1978 to 2019.

Coral reefs occupy less than 1 per cent of the Earth’s ocean floor but benefit over 1 billion people and support at least 25 per cent of the world’s marine life (see ‘Reefs and their...’, p20), contributing trillions of dollars in trade and tourism. But they are under relentless stress from warming, says the report. Diseases, overtourism and poor coastal management also play a role.