Fast-warming seas, overfishing and ocean pollution put coral reefs on course for extinction within a few generations, according to the UN. VIDEOGRAPHIC
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00:00Australia's Great Barrier Reef is the world's biggest coral ecosystem.
00:12Visible from space, it spans nearly 350,000 square kilometres and contains 400 types of coral,
00:191,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusks.
00:23The World Heritage-listed site is a life-sustaining ecosystem,
00:27providing food and shelter to species such as the dugong, known as the sea cow,
00:31and the large green turtle, both of which are threatened with extinction.
00:35But global warming is wreaking havoc on the Great Barrier Reef, threatening its very survival.
00:40It has suffered badly after three very serious episodes of coral bleaching in 2016, 2017 and 2020,
00:47affecting 98% of the ecosystem since 1998, according to a recent study.
00:52Bleaching occurs when the rise in water temperatures causes the disappearance of algae,
00:56which live in symbiosis with the coral, giving it its colour and nutrients.
01:01If they fail to regain their symbiotic plankton friends, the coral die.
01:06Experts say coral reefs no longer have the time necessary for their regeneration between two heatwaves.
01:11Aside from climate change, other threats to the reef include cyclones, farming runoff,
01:16coastal development and the coral-eating crown of thorns starfish.
01:21As well as providing a home to hundreds of marine species,
01:24the Great Barrier Reef supports a multi-billion dollar tourist industry and tens of thousands of jobs.
01:30The scientific community believes a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by all countries is vital for the future of corals.
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