REEFS AT RISK REVISITED

The report finds that the majority of the world's coral reefs are threatened by human activities and climate change, with projections that nearly all reefs will be threatened by 2050 if current trends continue. While 27% of reefs are in marine protected areas, only 6% are in effectively managed areas. The document emphasizes that reducing local pressures like overfishing and pollution is critical to increasing reef resilience against warming seas and ocean acidification.

• Most of the world's coral reefs are under threat from local human activities and thermal stress. Thirty percent of reefs have seen an increase in threats since 1998. If local and global threats are not addressed, the percentage of threatened reefs is projected to exceed 90 percent by 2030 and encompass nearly all reefs by 2050.
• Climate change and ocean chemistry are significant drivers of reef degradation. Rising greenhouse gas emissions lead to increased sea surface temperatures, causing mass coral bleaching in every coral reef region. Additionally, increased carbon dioxide levels cause ocean acidification, which slows coral growth and weakens skeletons.
• Coral reefs provide critical ecosystem services to approximately 850 million people worldwide. They protect 150,000 km of shorelines across more than 100 countries and territories, support tourism in at least 94 countries, and provide essential protein through seafood, contributing about one-quarter of the total fish catch in developing countries.
• Small-island states are disproportionately vulnerable to reef loss; 70 percent of the 27 most vulnerable countries and territories are small-island states. The nine most vulnerable countries include Haiti, Grenada, Philippines, Comoros, Vanuatu, Tanzania, Kiribati, Fiji, and Indonesia.
• Although 27% of the world's coral reefs are within marine protected areas (MPAs), with more than half of that area located in Australia, management is largely ineffective. Only 6 percent of global coral reefs are in effectively managed MPAs, and 13 percent are in partially effective areas.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). REEFS AT RISK REVISITED. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/reefs_at_risk_key_findings.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. REEFS AT RISK REVISITED. n.d. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/reefs_at_risk_key_findings.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=REEFS AT RISK REVISITED |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/reefs_at_risk_key_findings.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendreefs, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{REEFS AT RISK REVISITED}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/reefs_at_risk_key_findings.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }