Coral Triangle Stories

Coastal communities are the stewards of the ocean, and their livelihoods directly depend on its health. Six people living at the intersection of land and sea around the world tell us why they are so committed to the ocean and what it has brought to their lives.

WWF is aiding the Fijian government and local communities in their efforts to establish a network of marine protected areas that will cover 30% of the country’s waters by 2030.

While most of what we learned about coral reefs in 2019 is grim, there's still hope. In this new decade, we can do quite a bit to protect coral reefs and the wildlife and people that depend on them.

Covering more than 70% of our planet’s surface, the ocean contains the largest diversity of life on Earth and affects everything from global weather patterns to food systems. Learn what steps you can take help protect the ocean. 

For the first time, researchers have created models to predict when, where, and to what extent coral bleaching will occur in reefs around the world at a finer scale than ever before.

When you think about the impacts of climate change on the marine environment, your first thought might be the melting polar ice caps. Yet corals are among the most sensitive ecosystems to warming oceans and may be the most impacted by climate change in the near future.

Understanding underwater baselines in the Coral Triangle

Today, the Philippines' oceans are troubled. For over a century, coastal development, destructive fishing practices, coral mining, sedimentation, overfishing and chemical pollution have chipped away at the ocean’s health. Add to that climate change consequences such as ocean warming, acidification and coral bleaching, and we have an undersea war against marine resources. Faced with this problem, many countries within the Coral Triangle have established Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), to conserve what’s left.

The Global Environment Facility: Big solutions for a small planet

Thanks to a new mobile app, the process of gathering fishery data in the Solomon Islands has entered the digital age.

Bird's Head Seascape, West Papua, Indonesia

WWF—through USAID’s Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP)—helped revive and adapt a weaving program in Malaysia that would enable the women to earn income and sell fewer fish.

Sea turtles have roamed the Earth’s oceans for the last 110 million years. Here’s a look at some common questions about the species.

Though WWF has been actively engaged with GEF since its creation, we are now for the first time a full partner—a GEF “project agency”—entrusted with the direct design and implementation of GEF projects.

Saying that Nuatali Veniiy is passionate about marine conservation is a vast understatement. She’s a true believer in the importance of the reefs and the life they support.

This August, the Tubbataha Reefs of the Philippines celebrates 25 years as a marine protected area. The area is vast, covering more than 38,400 acres, and far from land.

WWF is tracking the movements of yellowfin tuna in the waters off the Philippines in the Coral Triangle. By gathering more information on the movements of these tuna, we can improve management of the tuna fishery.

Surveying the coral reefs of the Raja Ampat islands, WWF's Helen Fox works to protect marine areas for generations to come.

 

The ovulid sea snail boasts a remarkable ability to camouflage itself by taking on the appearance of its favorite food—corals. A new underwater survey by WWF and other scientists recently found at least 25 different species of these beautifully colored and patterned snails in an area of the Coral Triangle. The two-and-a-half-week survey was part of a scientific expedition to explore the underwater world of Tun Mustapha Park—a proposed marine protected area.

The Sunda Banda Seacape in eastern Indonesia includes a wide variety of communities and provides critical habitat for many marine species. WWF is working with the Indonesian Government to create a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which will span thousands of square miles and help protect the ocean environment.

Discover the connection between fireflies, whale sharks and mangrove forests through a first person account from WWF’s Catherine Plume.