World Wildlife Fund

Tropical Forests and Coral Reefs Need Your Help!

During 2008, The International Year of the Reef (IYOR), World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and Conservation International call on governments, businesses, academic institutions, coastal residents, scientists, and non-governmental organizations around the world to vastly increase actions to protect coral reefs. In 2003, the World Parks Congress urged that at least 20 to 30 percent of each marine habitat be protected by 2012. At current levels of effort, this goal will not be achieved for coral reefs. Given the importance of these systems for ocean life and human well-being, and the special stresses they face because of climate change, there is an urgent to need to act now.

• The area of coral reef under protection be globally increased from the current level of 15 percent to 30 percent;
• That protected areas be carefully designed as systems that are able to resist or recover rapidly from the multiple stresses they face, including those caused by climate change;
• That within these protected systems there be significant areas where human uses are significantly limited so that already stressed marine species can recover; and
• That governments and civil society work together to achieve the effective management of all coral reef protected areas. Unless these actions are taken, there is little likelihood that the world's coral systems will exist to sustain and protect future generations.
  

Learn more about WWFs work to protect coral reefs:

• Coral Triangle
• Coastal East Africa
• Mesoamerican Reef

Recent Updates

• Op-Ed: Save coral reefs for future generations
• Status of Caribbean Coral Reefs after Bleaching and Hurricanes in 2005