Local Threats and Management
The combination of global climate change and local threats has resulted in major declines in coral reef ecosystems worldwide. Global assessments indicate that more than 50% of the world’s corals may have been lost over the past 30 years, ref including a documented 14% decline in global live coral cover during the 2010s, ref with additional losses expected following the fourth global mass bleaching event in 2023-2025. Corals are now listed as “most at risk of extinction” by the Convention on Biological Diversity ref and are approaching climate tipping-points where most coral reefs globally are likely to experience long-term degradation as temperatures reach and exceed +1.5 °C of warming. ref Such losses have catastrophic repercussions on the services coral reefs provide and the people they support, reflecting not just a biodiversity crisis, but also a social, cultural, and economic challenge.
Local and regional threats to coral reefs often stem from human activities and interconnected land-to-sea processes. These pressures may act independently or combine with climate change, compounding risks to reef ecosystems. Unlike global drivers, many local and regional threats originate from sources that can be proactively managed, offering opportunities to reduce or eliminate harmful impacts on coral reefs.
In this toolkit we explore the most pervasive local threats and associated management strategies, including:
- Overfishing and destructive fishing
- Pollution
- Coastal development
- Tourism and recreational impacts
- Coral disease outbreaks
- Invasive species
- Coral predator outbreaks
Recreational users and commercial tourism operators play an important role in reef conservation and management. Photo © Jennifer Adler
For more in-depth information, take the Coral Reef Management Online Course Lesson 2: Threats to Coral Reefs and Lesson 3: Management Strategies for Resilience.