The Coral Triangle is located in waters off the coasts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. The area spans over 1.6 billion acres which is about half the size of the USA. The area is home to 3,000 fish species including tunas that are common human food sources. The region also contain six of the seven species of sea turtle and nearly 500 reef-building coral species – an amazing 75 percent of all known coral species.
This area is important to about 126 million people. It is a source of food for not only the coastal communities but the seafood is sent around the world. In the region around 200 languages are spoken and for many of the communities the ocean has a strong cultural significance. Each year the area also generates about $12 billion in eco-tourism.
Now unsustainable fishing, poorly planned development, pollution, a growing population and the effects of climate change are all contributing to the degradation of the Coral Triangle. The WWF is working to save the area with their three main objectives stated as:
WWF’s goal in the Coral TriangleWe plan to reach the following targets by 2020:
- Coral Reefs: 50 percent increase in area of priority coral reef habitats that is protected and sustainably managed with effective financing in place
- Species: Zero decline in the populations of 3 endangered marine turtle species (leatherback, hawksbill, green) from 2008 levels
- Transforming business: Halting and reversing the degradation of key marine resources - coral reef habitats, turtles, reef fish, and tuna
For more information, please visit http://mycoraltriangle.wwf.or.id/coralweb/ and watch the video below: