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The Coral Reef Alliance is focused on saving the world’s coral reefs. Coral reefs are in trouble, but science tells us that if we keep corals healthy in strategic ways then they can adapt to climate change. We engage with scientists, local communities, and global partners to keep reefs healthy and protected. Millions of people and species depend on reefs for survival. When coral reefs thrive, we all do.
We work at local, regional, and global levels to keep coral reefs healthy, so they can adapt to climate change. CORAL uses cutting-edge science and community engagement to reduce direct threats to reefs and promote scalable and effective solutions for their protection.
Local: We help diverse local communities protect reefs and chart their own sustainable futures. Our science-based conservation strategies ensure healthy reefs continue to support thriving wildlife populations and coastal communities.
Regional: We prioritize integrated regional strategies, since our research shows that the diversity of species and environmental conditions in connected reef ecosystems allow corals to adapt to climate change.
Global: As one of the largest global NGOs focused exclusively on protecting coral reefs, and as a leader in the science of coral reef conservation, CORAL builds international partnerships to address global threats to reefs and ensure their protection.
Scientists predict that all corals will be threatened by 2050, with 75 percent facing high to critical threat levels. Coral reefs are critical to wildlife and the communities that depend on them.
Although they cover less than 0.1 percent of the earth’s surface, coral reefs are the most biodiverse marine ecosystems in the world. The coral reefs we see today are hundreds—sometimes thousands—of years in the making. Like trees, coral reefs are living structures that can take many years to regenerate once destroyed. Since most coral species grow less than an inch per year, reef destruction can have long-lasting consequences.
Healthy reefs support local—and global—economies. Through the tourism industry and fisheries, coral reefs generate billions of dollars—and millions of jobs—in more than 100 countries around the world. Studies show that on average, countries with coral reef industries derive more than half of their gross national product from them. Over 500 million people around the world rely on coral reefs for food and income.
There are a lot of organizations addressing ocean ecosystems. As the largest NGO focused exclusively on coral reefs, we have led innovative research into evolutionary rescue to save coral reefs. Our results show that by reducing local stressors and protecting a diversity of reef types, we create the conditions that maximize corals’ capacity to adapt as climate emissions are brought under control. Our local interventions tailored to the threats, needs, and gaps of each reef. For example, in Hawai'i, we identified that poor water quality was threatening both coral reefs and human health. Our work addresses these threats, and we share our findings so our approach can be replicated on more reefs.
Coral reefs around the world are facing high to critical threat levels now. In the past two years, the pandemic brought a halt to tourism which led to less revenue re-invested in conservation programs. We need to build healthy reefs by reducing local threats now, so they have the best chance of adapting to the effects of climate change.
There are multiple key performance indicators that we use to measure our success, including:
- Water quality monitoring
- Sediment trap measurements
- Coral bleaching monitoring
- Sustainable tourism trainings
- Fish biomass monitoring
- Tools to measure adaptive capacity of coral species
Would you give $4 a month to support four nonprofits that are making a big difference? Join forces with other 52andChangmakers to automatically give to every Cause of the Week. Every Monday, you’ll wake up knowing you’ve already made a difference! As our community grows, so does the impact!
Together we’ve become volunteers in places we would have never expected, planted milkweed for butterflies, provided books to kids in need, helped save endangered turtles, helped turn excess food into nutrition, helped bring art to youth, educated one another about how we are connected to our delicate food systems, helped save abandoned horses and given old dogs new hope, watched foster youth shine in the spotlight of movie making, helped clean tires out of rivers… we could go on and on and on. It is an absolute joy to be a part of such an amazing network of humans making a difference.
“ALMA reconnects the lives of the formerly incarcerated back to the fabric of society. Our participants have the chance at attaining gainful employment and becoming self-sufficient. Urban Farming helps everyone involved explore the relationships between plants, animals and humans as a way of creating a profound connection to both nature and their community.” - ALMA Backyard Farms
While we’re writing this and you’re reading it, Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes is out there, finding ways to provide food to more people in need throughout Santa Cruz County, where one of three residents are reported to be food insecure.
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