Caribbean coral reefs in tragic decline
Some 80 per cent of growth has disappeared in the last 30 years, says report
Some 80 per cent of the coral reefs in the Caribbean have disappeared in the last 30 years, according to scientists.
Tourism, overfishing, pollution and storms are being blamed for the decline, which has seen the coral coverage on reefs drop from 50 per cent to an average of 10 per cent, according to research compiled by the University of East Anglia.
Toby Gardner, who led the study, told The Guardian: “The feeling has long been that the Caribbean reefs are doing badly. We are the first to pull information together from across the region and put a hard figure on coral decline. The rate of decline we found exceeds by far the well-publicised rates of loss for tropical forests.”
The co-author of the report, Isabelle Cote, said that pollution and fishing have been destroying reefs faster than they are able to regenerate. She added: “Healthy reefs are good protective barriers for coastal developments against waves created by tropical storms. If reefs are damaged they lose this capacity to absorb the wave energy, which means damage to coastal buildings. It is bad news for biodiversity, but also bad in terms of economics.”
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