45 countries have formed a coalition vowing to raise USD $12 billion to protect and restore coral reefs at risk due to climate change.
A new initiative was announced by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) on Tuesday (04), striving to protect roughly 48,262 square miles of coral reefs. According to the ICRI, action is vital for at least 25% of global marine life, as well as over a billion people living on vulnerable coastal communities.
A statement made by the ICRI said, “The functional existence of these critical ecosystems is at stake due to the climate crisis and a myriad of other anthropogenic stressors,”. ICRI added that “The window for protecting these ecosystems is closing rapidly.”
With oceans absorbing 90% of human-induced excess heat, coral reefs are killed rapidly. With funding, the ICRI’s goal is to mitigate coral’s endangered status, restoring at least 30% of reefs.
According to the ICRI, 14% of coral on coral reefs have been lost since 2009. This statistic only increases with the progressing climate change pressures. “To reverse this downward trajectory, we must accelerate resources and action to stop local and global drivers of decline and scale cost-efficient solutions to enable the survival and recovery of resilient coral reefs on a global scale,” the ICRI said
Success and conservation of at least 50% of the world’s coral reefs can generate over USD $18 billion from tourism, the initiative says.
Further discussions will be held at the United Nations Climate Change Conference scheduled from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 in Dubai.
