Reefs at Risk Revisited: Middle East

The Middle East contains approximately 6 percent of the world's coral reefs, with nearly two-thirds currently at risk from local threats, most notably overfishing. While some areas of the Red Sea remain under low threat, the Persian Gulf is highly stressed, with over 85 percent of its reefs considered threatened. Projections indicate that thermal stress and ocean acidification will push all reefs in the region to threatened status by 2050. Currently, only 12 percent of the region's reefs are within Marine Protected Areas, though Egypt has significant coverage with about 50 percent of its reefs protected.

• The Middle East possesses approximately 14,000 sq km of coral reefs, representing about 6 percent of the global total. Roughly 19 million people in the region reside on the coast within 30 km of a reef.
• Nearly two-thirds of the region's reefs are endangered by local threats, with overfishing being the primary driver, affecting 55 percent of reefs. Other local pressures include coastal development, marine-based pollution, damage, and watershed-based pollution.
• Climate change impacts, specifically thermal stress and ocean acidification, are expected to increase threat levels to nearly 90 percent by 2030 and result in all reefs reaching threatened status by 2050.
• Threat levels vary significantly by geography: over 85 percent of reefs in the Persian Gulf are threatened, compared to just over 60 percent in the Red Sea. Some areas of the northern Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia and the central western Red Sea are among the most extensive low-threat continental margin reefs outside of Australia.
• Marine Protected Area (MPA) coverage is low at 12 percent for the region, with only 11 percent of those reefs being effectively or partially protected. Egypt is a notable exception, with about 50 percent of its reefs inside MPAs, all of which are considered at least partially effective.

APA

World Resources Institute (2011). Reefs at Risk Revisited: Middle East. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/factsheet_reefs_middle_east.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Reefs at Risk Revisited: Middle East. 2011. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/factsheet_reefs_middle_east.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Reefs at Risk Revisited: Middle East |date=February 2011 |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/factsheet_reefs_middle_east.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2011reefs, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Reefs at Risk Revisited: Middle East}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2011}, month = feb, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/factsheet_reefs_middle_east.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }