Our oceans have lost 14% of their coral reefs in just a decade, due to the climate crisis

    Our oceans have lost 14% of their coral reefs in just a decade, due to the climate crisis

    The UN raises the alarm: the climate crisis wiped out 14% of the biodiversity of marine ecosystems between 2009 and 2018

    The world's first comprehensive coral reef health study raises the alarm: rising temperatures linked to the climate crisis wiped out 14% of marine ecosystem biodiversity between 2009 and 2018 - and the trend is in steadily increasing





    The United Nations funded the drafting of a detailed report on the health of the world's oceans and, in particular, coral reefs: it emerges that the greatest threat to the survival of the reefs is the rise in water temperature, caused by human activities. Between 2009 and 2018, the ever-rising temperatures of the oceans resulted in massive coral 'bleaching' phenomena, which were unable to recover from the damage.

    The study, which involved more than 300 scientists around the world and collected data from 12.000 natural sites, also points the finger at practices that are destructive to the environment - such as coastal exploitation, lowering of water quality, intensive fishing. or by trawling - which have contributed to the loss of coral reefs in recent years. According to the authors of the study, this loss could cause incalculable damage to the entire marine ecosystem: in fact, although corals cover just 1% of the ocean floor, they support about 25% of the animal and plant species that live in the seas.

    The report highlights the rapid decline of the coral reef everywhere in the world, corresponding to the equally rapid increase in temperatures in the sea: this indicates the vulnerability of corals to heat peaks - phenomena that will become increasingly frequent with the progressive warming of the planet. Since 2009 there has been a drastic reduction in the sea surface occupied by corals: between 2009 and 2018, the world surface occupied by corals went from 33,3% to 28,8% - a reduction of approximately 11.700 square kilometers of coral (corresponding more or less to the entire mass of corals present in the Australian coral reef).

    (Read also: WWF alert: the Triangle of endangered corals)

    Coral reefs, in addition to being a precious resource for marine ecosystems, are also a litmus test of the health of our planet, and indicate how serious the situation is. Such an important decrease in the number of corals present in our oceans is a wake-up call not to be underestimated.



    We still have little time - complaint Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program. - We can still recover what we have lost, but only if we act now. At upcoming conferences on climate and biodiversity, the mighty of the earth will have the opportunity to make concrete commitments to save coral reefs, but only if they are brave enough. We cannot afford to leave a world without coral to future generations.

    The next events mentioned by Andersen are the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP 15), to be held in Kunming (China) from 11 to 15 October, and COP26 in Glasgow, from 31 October to 12 November. 

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    Melting: UN Environment Program

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