It is urgent to protect coral resources

Faced with the rapid deterioration of coral reef ecosystem in the world, relevant agencies of the United Nations, the World Organization for the Protection of Coral Reef and some countries have begun to take joint protection actions to ensure the sustainable economic development of coastal countries.

The International Coral Reef Protection Action Network has worked out a plan to carry out protection actions around the world. According to the plan, the organization will take the lead in selecting some coral reefs in East Asia, East Africa, the South Pacific and the Caribbean as demonstration areas for protection, and will invest a lot of money and technology in the next four years in order to make breakthrough progress in coral reef protection and provide experience for protection actions in other regions.

this action plan has been strongly supported by the international community since it came out. The United Nations Environment Programme indicated that it would fully participate in the implementation of the plan. At the same time, World Fisheries Center, World Resources Institute, Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, Shanhu Reef Alliance, South Pacific Environment Agency and other organizations have also joined. On the 19th of this month, the United Nations Foundation, initiated by American businessman Turner, announced a donation of $1 million to this coral reef protection operation. On the same day, the United Nations Environment Programme also announced that it would cooperate with Kenya, Madagascar and Seychelles to implement this plan on the east coast of Africa.

Although coral reefs account for less than .25% of the global ocean, more than a quarter of the known marine fish live on coral reefs and are interdependent. Coral reefs can also protect land and islands from the attack and erosion of waves because of their hard reefs. Therefore, coral reefs enjoy the reputation of "tropical rain forest in the ocean" and "Great Wall on the sea", and are considered as one of the oldest, most colorful and most precious ecosystems on earth.

Coral has maintained its tenacious vitality in the evolution process of 25 million years. No matter storms, volcanic eruptions or sea level rise and fall, corals have not been extinct. However, in recent decades, over-exploitation of marine resources, environmental pollution, global warming, indiscriminate fishing and killing of marine fish and predatory exploitation of coral reefs have caused unprecedented survival crisis of coral reefs.

According to the data provided by the United Nations Environment Programme, at present, 11% of coral reefs in the world have been destroyed, 16% have failed to play their ecological functions, and 6% are facing serious threats. Experts believe that if this trend cannot be effectively curbed, the sustainable development of coastal countries will become empty talk. The executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, T? pfer, said: "The stage of empty talk has passed, and now it is time to take action."

Experts believe that the action plan initiated by the International Coral Reef Protection Action Network has taken a historic step to protect coral reefs, but the funding of only 1 million dollars is far from enough. Only when governments, enterprises and organizations all over the world take immediate action and take effective measures can the current living conditions of coral reefs be fundamentally changed.