Brazil, Atlantic forest. Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care
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Oil companies planning to drill near a vast coral reef at the mouth of the Amazon river have calculated that the unique ecosystem has a 30% chance of being affected in the event of an oil spill.
The unique reef system astonished marine biologists when its existence was widely revealed last year, and is believed it could be the home for dozens of previously unknown species. But activists warn that an oil spill could irreparably damage the 1,000 kilometre-long ecosystem before scientists have even had a chance to study it…