Coral Reef Facts

• Coral reefs are in crisis, dying at an alarming rate worldwide.
   
• An estimated 25% of coral reefs have already disappeared and an estimated two-thirds of all coral reefs are at risk today.¹
   
• An estimated 88% of the reefs in Southeast Asia - the most species rich reefs on earth - are at risk.¹
   
• Since 1975, more than 90% of the reefs in the Florida Keys have lost their living coral cover (study by Dr. Phil Dustan).
   
• Threats to the world's coral reefs include:
  • Pollution
  • Disease
  • Over-fishing
  • Dynamite and cyanide fishing
  • Sedimentation
  • Bleaching caused by rising ocean temperatures

• Called the "rainforests of the sea," coral reefs are the greatest expression of ocean life, and the most biodiverse ecosystem on Earth with 30 of 34 known animal phyla present.  
   
• Unlike the rainforest, there is no comprehensive global baseline map of living coral reefs. This is urgently needed. A satellite mission dedicated to remote sensing of coral reefs can provide this critical global baseline.

¹ Please see Reefs at Risk series, World Resources Institute.

The most important fact:
There are solutions to this crisis.
 

Educational Poster Designed by Keenan Wyrobek & Dan Kranzler