Is $12 Billion Enough To Save Coral Reefs? These 45 Nations Hope So

A group of 45 nations have launched a new effort to protect the world's remaining coral reefs, aiming to raise $12 billion by 2030 to help stave off the threats of climate change and more localized coral destruction.

The new effort, dubbed the Coral Reef Breakthrough, was launched by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) along with the Global Fund for Coral Reefs and the UN's High-Level Climate Champions. Its broad goal is to protect at least 125,000 square kilometers of shallow-water coral reef — an area about the size of Mississippi.

"Coral reefs are more than just beautiful; they are our lifelines. They are essential to the security and resilience of many nations, especially those in low-lying island states," said H.E. Razan Al Mubarak, the president of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and a United Nations Climate Change High-Level Champion, according to a press release.

"These are nations staring down the barrel of climate change."

The world has lost 14% of the coral in tropical reefs since 2009, due in large part to warming waters. But more than a billion people rely on the reefs in various ways.

The ICRI's 45 countries include more than three-quarters of all the world's coral reefs. The funds will also try to stem local threats to the reefs, like pollution runoff from land, coastal development and overfishing. It aims to double the area of reefs under protection, and restore 30% of degraded reefs by the end of this decade.

To accomplish these goals, the group wants to raise money — a lot of money. They hope to secure $12 billion in investment from both public and private sources — a small price, perhaps, given that studies have suggested coral reefs provide almost $10 trillion per year in benefits known as ecosystem services.

"No healthy ocean without healthy coral reefs, and the latter are under such threat that their very existence is at stake," said Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean, according to the release.

"Support for Coral Reef Breakthrough is support for the well-being of generations to come."