Kolkata: Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have co-authored the first-ever global coral reef ecosystem assessment conducted under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Ecosystems (RLE), an official statement said Tuesday.
Unveiled at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia, the global study paints a critical picture of the future of marine biodiversity.
Evaluating the extinction risk of entire ecological systems, the report reveals that 96 per cent of all assessed coral reef units globally (accounting for 99.8 per cent of total reef area) are classified as critically endangered (CR) when accounting for future ocean warming and marine heat stress, the statement said.
The regional assessment for South Asia covers 13 distinct coral reef ecoregions spanning approximately 8,282.6 km across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and the Chagos Archipelago-representing about 4 per cent of the world's coral reefs.
While historical data from the past 50 years categorised South Asia's reefs under varying threat levels (7 Vulnerable, 4 Endangered, and 2 Critically Endangered), incorporating projected marine heat stress over the next 50 years under IPCC climate scenarios elevates all 13 South Asian ecoregions to critically endangered status.
India hosts four of these vital ecoregions, incorporating island reefs, atolls, and mainland formations, the statement said.
ZSI provided vital scientific backing for the assessment. ZSI researchers Dr C Raghunathan, Dr Tamal Mondal, Dr J S Yogesh Kumar, and Dr Chandran Rethinaraj served as co-authors on the regional report, contributing decades of long-term national biodiversity research, field surveys, reef mapping, coral taxonomy, and marine species monitoring.
Out of 350 total listed monitoring sites across the region, 162 sites (46.3 per cent) were contributed by Indian ecoregions, underscoring India's scientific leadership in international environmental evaluations.
The assessment identifies marine heatwaves and climate-induced mass coral bleaching-evidenced by severe historic events in 1998 and 2016-as the foremost threats to reef survival, it said.
This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
