Nations pledge $12B to protect coral reefs

More than 40 countries are pledging to raise $12 billion to protect the world’s coral reefs from threats such as overfishing and human pollution.

The new initiative, Coral Reef Breakthrough, was launched by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), the Global Fund for Coral Reefs and the U.N. High-Level Climate Champions, the groups said in a statement released Tuesday.

The goal of the initiative is to “secure the future of at least 125,000 km of shallow-water tropical coral reefs” — or roughly 77,671 miles.

Coral reefs are one of the world’s most threatened ecosystems, and the initiative seeks to prevent extinction, according to the organizations.

“The world has lost 14 percent of the coral on its coral reefs since 2009 and with ever-increasing pressures from climate change, the window for protecting these ecosystems is closing rapidly,” they said in the report. “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 money the group plans to raise will go toward several aspects of coral reef protection, including mitigating sources of pollution that come from land and humans, addressing destructive coastal development and reducing overfishing to prevent loss of coral.

Through the initiative, the organizations also plan to expand the area of reefs currently under protection. In an effort to accelerate restoration, they said they will assist in developing climate-smart designs for coral adaptation.

“The Breakthrough was developed with inputs from a dedicated working group of over 30 lead coral reef experts,” Francis Staub, ICRI global coordinator, said in a statement. “This ensures that the ambitious targets were grounded in science, actionable, measurable, and reflect the urgency to address the coral crisis.”

The plan will be discussed more at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference set to take place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 in Dubai.