Scientists Join Forces in Call for Action to Save Coral Reefs

Today their efforts received a big boost with the release of a Scientific Consensus Statement on Climate Change and Coral Reefs that is supported by over 2,600 scientists, showing the threats that reef corals are under across the globe and calling for governments worldwide to take steps to protect valuable coral reef ecosystems.

The statement was drafted by a group of eminent scientists under the auspices of the Center for Ocean Solutions (COS) at Stanford University in California and was released at the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium in Cairns, Australia.

“Rising sea levels, more intense storms, changes in ocean chemistry due to air and water pollution – all these stress coral reefs,” observed Steve Palumbi, an expert on corals with the Center for Ocean Solutions and the chief organizer in developing the consensus statement.

“At least 25 percent of the world’s coral reefs have been degraded. Because of the global origin of climate change, the only way to tackle this is through a worldwide effort.”