Mangroves Help Protect Against Sea Level Rise
Mangrove forests could play a crucial role in protecting coastal areas from sea level rise caused by climate change, according to new research involving the University of Southampton.
What Happens to a Coral Reef When an Island is Built on Top?
Seven such coral reefs are being turned into islands, with harbors and landing strips by the Chinese military, and it is destroying a rich ecological network. “It’s the worst thing that has happened to coral reefs in our lifetime.”
Coral Bleaching Threat Increasing in Western Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
As unusually warm ocean temperatures cover the north Pacific, equatorial Pacific, and western Atlantic oceans, NOAA scientists expect greater bleaching of corals on Northern Hemisphere reefs through October, potentially leading to the death of corals over a wide area and affecting the long-term supply of fish and shellfish.
Unesco Spares Great Barrier Reef In-Danger Listing But Issues Warning
The UN has ruled against listing the Great Barrier Reef as “in danger”, congratulating Australia on its conservation plan but giving it five years to halt deterioration of the natural icon.
Diverse Corals Persist, But Bioerosion Escalates in Palau’s Low-pH Waters
As the ocean absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide released by the burning of fossil fuels, its chemistry is changing.
Boracay Experiencing Beach Erosion, 70% Coral Loss; Philippines
According to a study conducted by Japanese and Filipino scientists, coral cover in Boracay Island declined by about 70.5 percent from 1988 to 2011, and the highest decrease in the 23-year period, was recorded between 2008 and 2011, as tourist arrivals rose by 38.4 percent…
Great Barrier Reef: UNESCO Recommends World Heritage Site Not be Placed on ‘In Danger’ List
World’s largest coral reef to remain on UN’s watchlist as draft ruling calls on Australia to ‘rigorously’ implement its conservation commitments. Environmental groups consider the reef – regardless of the Unesco ruling in June – technically in danger.
Sri Lanka to become the first nation in the world to protect all its mangroves
More than half the world’s mangroves have been lost over the last century but all of those surviving in Sri Lanka, one of their most important havens, are now to be protected in an unprecedented operation.
After Oil Spill, Unique Mangrove Forest Faces More Threats
On December 9, 2014, a wrecked tanker released approximately 94,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil into the Shela River, which runs through the Sundarbans. Now another shipping disaster is unfolding, as a capsized cargo vessel, Jabalenoor, leaks 200 tonnes of potash fertilizer into the Sundarbans’ Bhola River, southeast of the earlier oil spill.