Southeast Asia’s biologically diverse coral reefs will disappear by the end of this century, wiping out coastal economies and sparking civil unrest if climate change isn’t addressed, conservation group WWF said on Wednesday.
The Coral Triangle, a reef network that spans Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and East Timor, has more than 76 percent of the world’s reef-building coral species and 35 percent of its coral reef fish species.
However, a new report commissioned by the WWF warned that much of this reef is doomed unless developed countries cut carbon emissions to 40 percent below the 1990 levels by the year 2020 and developing economies cut emissions by at least 30 percent from their current levels.
The report, based on 300 published studies and released to coincide with the World Ocean Conference in Manado, Sulawesi, warns that a do-nothing scenario will lead to a steady rise in sea temperatures, killing the coral and its dependent wildlife and hurting the livelihoods of around 100 million people.
** Coral climate crunch could displace millions ~ WWF
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