The above-mentioned Status of Coral Reefs Around the World, 2004 also notes (p. 21) that “The major emerging threat to coral reefs in the last decade has been coral bleaching and mortality associated with global climate change.”

Healthy coral, by contrast, is very colorful and rich with marine life.(Images source: Wikipedia)

It is believed that almost all species of corals wereaffected by high sea surface temperatures during 1998 and the El Niño at the time, which resulted in global coral bleaching and mortality.

2002 was then the second worst year for coral bleaching after 1998.

Scientists have long been pessimistic about the future, with some reefs expected to vanish by 2020.

Additional scientific research, reported byGreenpeace fears climate change will eliminate reefs from many areas:

If climate change is not stopped, coral bleaching is set to steadily increase in frequency and intensity all over the world until it occurs annually by 2030—2070.

This would devastate coral reefs globally to such an extent that they could be eliminated from most areas of the world by 2100. Current estimates suggest that reefs could take hundreds of years to recover. The loss of these fragile ecosystems would cost billions of dollars in lost revenue from tourism and fishing industries, as well as damage to coastal regions that are currently protected by the coral reefs that line most tropical coastlines.

Global Threats To Coral Reefs

All around the world, much of the world’s marine biodiversity face threats from activities and events such as

• Coastal development;
• Overfishing;
• Inland pollution;
• Global climate change.
• Ocean acidification caused by some of the excess carbon dioxide emissions being absorbed by the world’s oceans

The 2004 edition of Status of Coral Reefs Around the World lists the following top 10 emerging threats (p.19) in these three categories:

Global Change Threats

These are:

• Coral bleaching—caused by elevated sea surface temperatures due to global climate change;
• Rising levels of CO2
• Diseases, Plagues and Invasives—linked to human disturbances in the environment.

Direct Human Pressures

These are:

• Over-fishing (and global market pressures)—including the use of damaging practices (bomb and cyanide fishing);
• Sediments—from poor land use, deforestation, and dredging;
• Nutrients and Chemical pollution
• Development of coastal areas—for urban, industrial, transport and tourism developments, including reclamation and mining of coral reef rock and sand beyond sustainable limits.

The Human Dimension—Governance, Awareness and Political Will

These are:

• Rising poverty, increasing populations, alienation from the land
• Poor capacity for management and lack of resources
• Lack of Political Will, and Oceans Governance