Report warns against Coral Triangle collapse (CNN)

[eppur_se_muova]

(CNN) -- Experts have warned that the richly diverse coral reefs of the Coral Triangle around southeast Asia will disappear by the end of the century if action is not taken against climate change.

As well as the loss of one of the world's most diverse underwater ecosystems, the knock on effect would be the collapse of coastal economies that supports around 100 million people, according to the WWF- commissioned study outlined at the World Ocean Conference this week.

The Coral Triangle includes 30 percent of the world's reefs, 76 percent of global reef building coral species and more than 35 percent of coral reef fish.

However the authors of the study believe that effective global action on climate change and regional attention to problems of over-fishing and pollution would prevent catastrophe.

The report presents two different possible futures for the world's richest marine environment -- the coasts, reefs and seas of the six countries of Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor Leste.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/05/12/coral.triangle/index.html