Stories: Reefs at Risk - Analysis of Threats to Coral Reefs

Reef ecosystems face both local and global threats. Here is what needs to be done to ensure the world’s corals and mangroves are preserved.

Lauretta Burke explains why President Bush’s recent designation of 195,000 square miles of coral rich marine habitat in the Pacific Ocean is important to global reef conservation efforts.

What is Reefs at Risk and why is it unique?

My team at WRI, together with Dr. Bob Diaz at the Virginia Marine Institute, has identified and mapped 415 eutrophic and hypoxic coastal systems worldwide through an extensive literature review. Of these, 169 are documented hypoxic areas, 233 are areas of concern and 13 are systems in recovery.