Half of the reefs across the world are dead as per the first ever report made on the environment worldwide by Inter-governmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. The report was launched during the 7th meeting of IPBES in Paris from April 29th to May 4th 2019.
According to this report, if the current pace at which the destruction of reefs stays constant, 90% of reefs worldwide would be destroyed in the near future. It also mentioned that there is a possibility of 25% species in the world to go extinct.
In addition to their predictions, the report also talked about the reasons why such problems were occurring. As for the extinction of some species, the report listed 5 issues, namely; changes brought about by usage of the sea and land. direct exploitation of animals, climate change, changes in its habitat and introduction of alien species into its environment.
29% of marine species are affected by issues such as fishing. The second reason is due to how we use the sea and another reason is due to climate change. Looking at species living on land, they are mainly affected by direct exploitation and climate change.
As a country highly dependent on tourism, Maldives needs to take care of their environment more than others. With our reefs being one of the main beauty spots in the country, we need to ensure the safety of the fish inhabiting them as well as its beautiful corals.
