A Global Plan to Save Coral Reefs from Extinction
‘50 Reefs’ Initiative Seeks to Protect Critical Ecosystem Threatened by Climate Change, Preventing Economic, Human Health & Environmental Disaster
Originally posted on Bloomberg.org.
BALI, Indonesia, March 7, 2017 /3BL Media/ – A global plan to save coral reefs from complete eradication caused by climate change, pollution and poor fishing practices launched today at The Economist World Ocean Summit in Bali. The initiative, called 50 Reefs, brings together leading ocean, climate and marine scientists as well as conservation practitioners from around the world to develop a list of the 50 most critical coral reefs to protect.
50 Reefs will be the first global plan to save the most biodiverse ecosystem on the planet. The final list and corresponding initiatives, to be announced later this year, will raise awareness of the increasing severity of climate change impacts on the ocean and catalyze the global action and investment required to protect these important reef systems for the future.
The launch comes at a perilous moment for coral reefs, as current estimates indicate that 90 percent will disappear by 2050. A unique philanthropic coalition of innovators in business, technology and government are supporting 50 Reefs, led by Bloomberg Philanthropies with The Tiffany & Co. Foundation and The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, with the aim of preventing the worst economic, social, and environmental impacts of this enormous crisis.
The 50 Reefs initiative builds on The Ocean Agency and the Global Change Institute at The University of Queenslandshared experience carrying out the most comprehensive global survey of coral reefs and coral bleaching ever recorded (in partnership with Google and XL Catlin). This work is also the subject of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award-winning documentary, “Chasing Coral,” which will be released worldwide on Netflix.
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