THE PLIGHT OF CORAL REEFS
Ecosystem restoration in a global crisis is everyone's responsibility
At Coralku, environmental and human wellbeing is at the forefront of our organization's mission. Our programs and research are designed to be a catalyst that guides coral reef restoration, creates capacity within our communities and helps practitioners further their own restoration practice.
OUR MISSION
FROM RUBBLE TO REEF
Established in 2019, Coralku emerged out of a pursuit to restore degraded coral reef sites in northeastern Peninsular Malaysia, and a desire for actions to speak louder than words.
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Our projects were initiated to enhance the complexity and health of coral reefs in Peninsular Malaysia through active ecosystem restoration. Our flagship project is based in Pulau Lang Tengah, where we actively restore coral reefs and address regional knowledge gaps in coral reef science and restoration. These efforts are driven by research that examines the regional impacts of climate change on coral reefs and the application of cutting-edge techniques to enhance coral reef restoration scale and success under climate change.
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Rubble
to Reef
CORAL REEFS IN NUMBERS
50%
- of coral reefs have disappeared worldwide.
Coastal development, pollution, unsustainable fishing and climate change have severely degraded coral reefs in many regions. No coral reef region remains untouched from human impact, triggering calls for better management and restoration of our coral reefs.
90%
- of coral reefs are threatened with extinction this century.
Due to climate change, rising ocean temperatures are triggering mass mortality of coral reefs. This decade is crucial, and perhaps the last chance, to save coral reefs. Currently, it is estimated that 70-90% of coral reefs may be lost by 2050.
25%
- of marine life can be found in coral reefs.
Coral reefs support more than 4,000 species of fish and over 800 species of hard corals despite only covering 0.1% of the ocean floor. This does not account for all other organisms that live in coral reefs. Some reports suggest that tropical coral reefs are more diverse than rainforests.
1 billion +
- people rely on coral reefs economically.
Coral reefs are critical for the food security of more than 500 million people worldwide, as they provide important habitat for thousands of fish species. Additionally, an estimated 500+ million work in jobs that are related to coral reefs, such as the diving industry, recreational fishing, and island tourism.
8.7 billion
- Malaysian Ringgit (RM) are generated annually by coral reefs in Malaysia.
Based on the Department of Marine Parks Malaysia, 6 island archipelagos in Peninsular Malaysia generate 8.7 billion RM (~2.7 billion USD) through various ecosystem services such as tourism, carbon sequestration, fisheries and coastal protection. This value is almost exclusively driven by fringing coral reefs within these archipelagos.
