Coral reefs

By Mohammad Ali Akanda Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
23 December 2004, 18:00 PM
I venture to voice my views on coral reefs . The coral reefs are in peril. Twenty percent coral reefs of the world have been effectively destroyed and show no immediate hope of recovery. Another 24 percent are under looming risk of subsides in the course of human pressures and a further 26 percent are under a longer-term peril of collapse. These are only some of the conclusions of a comprehensive new report by 240 scientists in 98 countries, working under the help of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. Coral reefs, in addition to being breathtakingly beautiful, are among the embraces of life on Earth and breeding ground of biodiversity vital to supporting oceanic health. But an amalgamation of global warming, litters, over fishing, diseases, toxic waste, effluents and other factors is destroying the reefs world-wide. It is mentioned in the report that Australian and Pacific reefs remain relatively healthy, but devastating declines have taken place elsewhere, including the Caribbean region, where coral cover on many reefs has declined by up to 80 percent. Reefs of the Bay of Bengal have also declined slowly. If the world community doesn't do something soon, it will be too late for many reefs to recover. The terrible threat to the world's oceans is barely a surprise, and it isn't limited to coral reefs only . A new report gave an account of the grave ecological conditions of America's coastal waters. People are using the oceans in a fashion that can't be continued.