Our Precious Coasts

Figure 6. Threats to the World’s coral reefs.

Major observed threats

to the world’s coral reefs include extreme climate events, unsus-

tainable tourism practices, poison fishing for ornamental fish,

overexploitation by fisheries, sedimentation, coral harvesting, dy-

namite fishing and pollution (not in order of priority). This graphic

explains which activities or conditions are affecting various coral

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reefs throughout the world. The graphic ‘Major Threats to Reefs’

shows the percentage of reefs that are threatened by overexploita-

tion, coastal development, inland pollution and marine pollution,

and the degree to which they are under threat. The graphic ‘De-

stroyed Coral Reefs’ shows the percentage of coral reefs that have

been destroyed in the world’s major regions.