Low reef health: While reports indicate a worldwide reduction in coral reef covering, in the Caribbean the problem is compounded by the reefs' increasingly slow rate of recovery,

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MIAMI: Global warming and pollution are decimating coral reefs around the world, with only 25 per cent in good health in the Caribbean Sea, U.S. experts warn.

In other areas of the world such as the Pacific basin, nearly 70 per cent of the coral reefs are either thriving or in good condition, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a report released yesterday

NOAA told the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that nearly half of coral reef ecosystems in the United States are in poor or barely passable condition.

Call to action

"This is absolutely a call to action," said NOAA Coral Program director Kacky Andrews.

To reverse the deterioration and lessen the threat to coral reefs, she strongly suggested curbing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and the use of fertiliser prevent damage from anchors and stop the sale of coral for jewellery.

"In the Caribbean, parts of Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Mexico that have been strongly impacted by hurricanes in the past few years, large communities of coral have been lost," said Diego Lirman, a researcher at the University of Miami Rosentiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

He said the Caribbean region, which sustains only 60 or 70 species of coral compared to more than 500 in the Pacific, "has lost a large part of its most ancient corals, which ... can be more than 500 years old and make up the reef's basic structure."

While reports indicate a worldwide reduction in coral reef covering, in the Caribbean the problem is compounded by the reefs' increasingly slow rate of recovery, Lirman said.

"In some places protected zones have been set aside, but the fact is many countries lack the means to monitor them – there are no patrols in the area and no real measure of control," the expert said.