The MSC Foundation supports new research from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species™, which has warned that a staggering 44% of reef-building coral species are threatened with extinction.
The results were announced today at the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Speaking alongside IUCN Deputy Director General Stewart Maginnis and other esteemed panelists at the conference's Global Coral Update, Daniela Picco, Executive Director of the MSC Foundation, outlined the MSC Foundation's support for this global assessment related to coral species and ecosystems, as well as the integration of its conservation and grantmaking efforts.
“This global coral assessment sounds the alarm for urgent collective action to halt the decline of coral reefs worldwide. The MSC Foundation is proud to collaborate with the IUCN Red List Coral team, which has done an outstanding job gathering data to assess and report on the state of the world’s reef-building corals,” he said.
"The IUCN Red List guides our foundation in making science-based philanthropic decisions to carry out lasting and impactful conservation efforts that help preserve our planet. It will remain a vital resource for our family foundation for generations to come.".
The research involves assessing the conservation status of 892 species of warm-water reef-building corals and has revealed a dangerous trend of increasing risk.
The assessment cites climate change and the related severe warming and bleaching phenomena as the main threats to reef-building corals, accompanied by other threats such as pollution, agricultural runoff, disease, and unsustainable fishing.
Experts recommend reducing these threats, strengthening the resilience of species, and investigating how corals can adapt to warmer waters.
The work of the MSC Foundation on Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve (Bahamas), to cultivate resilient species of critically endangered elkhorn coral in its open water nursery, takes on new significance with this IUCN Red List assessment.
Professor David Smith, Chief Scientific Advisor at the MSC Foundation, said: “The latest global assessment brings worrying news for corals, with more than 340 species now considered threatened with extinction. Much work remains to be done to secure the future of these species and the vital reefs they form. An ocean without functioning coral reefs would be a bleak reality, highlighting the urgent need to find solutions to the climate crisis while simultaneously addressing the current coral crisis.”
Through its Super Coral Program and collaboration with external university partners since 2020, the 100% survival rate of nursery corals following recent warming events takes on new significance. The program builds upon the multi-year restoration of the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve's marine ecosystem, which began when MSC Cruises started rebuilding the former sand extraction site in 2015.
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