"<h2>Reef-Dependent Population</h2>In the Caribbean region, 100 million people benefit from coral reefs, including 41 million people who are likely highly dependent on reefs for their food or livelihood.(Estimated using WorldPop and World Vector Shoreline. People within 30 km of reefs and 10 km of the coast were considered \"highly dependent,\" while those within 100 km of reefs \"benefit.\")&nbsp;"

"<h2>Tourism</h2>Coral reef-associated tourist expenditure in the Caribbean is valued at $9.5 billion annually. This includes on-reef recreation (snorkeling, diving, recreational fishing, glass-bottom boat tours, etc.) as well as reef-adjacent benefits (such as white, sandy beaches and sheltered waters)."

Value

Vulnerability

Infrastructure

Habitat

Value and Importance of Coral Reefs

"9–10% of the world's coral reefs are in the Caribbean region. Different sources offer different figures for the total area of reef cover: Source &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Area (km²)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Global Share <a href=\"https://data.unep-wcmc.org/datasets/1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Global Distribution of</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13,459&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;9.0%<a href=\"https://data.unep-wcmc.org/datasets/1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Coral Reefs (UNEP-WCMC)</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=\"https://gcrmn.net/products/reports/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Global Coral Reef Monitoring</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;26,397&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;10.2%<a href=\"https://gcrmn.net/products/reports/\\\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Network (GCRMN) Report</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 40 percent of Caribbean coral reefs are located within marine protected areas; 4.6 percent in “Fully or Highly Protected” areas."

"<h2>Mangroves</h2>The Caribbean region possesses about 11% of the world's mapped mangroves. Between 1996 and 2016, the region lost over 8% of its mangrove area (a net loss of 1,410 km²). This net change included both 1,623 km² of loss and 212 km² of gain. As of 2016, the region had 15,378 km² of mangrove forest."

Ecosystems

Protected Areas

Coral Reefs, Mangroves, and Protection

"<h2>Local Threats</h2>Local activities and pollution threaten over 75% of reefs in the Caribbean, with overfishing being the most pervasive threat. Coastal development, land-based sources of pollution, and marine pollution are also important threats in many locations."

"<h2>Coral Bleaching Conditions</h2>In the Caribbean, most coral reefs will experience severe coral bleaching conditions at least twice per decade by the 2030s. By the 2050s, such conditions will occur annually (on average) for nearly 95% of Caribbean reefs."

"<h2>Ocean Acidification</h2>By the 2040s, most reefs in the Caribbean will be situated in conditions considered marginal for coral growth, based on ocean acidity and the availability of aragonite. By the 2070s, all reefs will be in areas rated poor."

Habitats

Local Threats

Global Threats

Local and Global Threats to Coral Reefs

"<h2>Live Hard Coral Cover</h2>The earliest&nbsp;survey&nbsp;data available for this report are from&nbsp;1983.&nbsp;Live hard coral cover in the Caribbean has&nbsp;declined from 18.0% in 1983 to&nbsp;15.9% in 2019 (a relative loss of 11.7% of coral cover), with most of the decline occurring since 2002. Earlier&nbsp;survey&nbsp;data from other sources, including a&nbsp;<a href=\"https://gcrmn.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Caribbean-Coral-Reefs-Status-Report-1970-2012.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">GCRMN regional report from 2014</a>,&nbsp;suggest that coral cover was considerably higher in 1970 (at nearly 35.0%), which would equate to a 54% loss of coral cover between 1970 and 2019.&nbsp;Coral cover decline since 1983 is attributed to overfishing, coastal development, chronic coastal water pollution, more frequent and intense coral bleaching events, stronger hurricanes, and&nbsp;coral&nbsp;disease. Mass coral bleaching events have affected reefs in&nbsp;some parts of&nbsp;the Caribbean in 1995, 1998, 2005, 2010 and 2015, with some recovery between 2008 and 2015.&nbsp;&nbsp;"

"<h2>Algae Cover</h2>The trend in cover of algae largely mirrors that of live coral cover, increasing from an average of 42.7% in 1986 to 52.4 in 2019 (a relative gain of 23%).&nbsp;The gains in algal&nbsp;cover&nbsp;have been attributed to a loss of herbivorous species (including sea urchins and parrotfish), nutrient pollution, and overgrowth of dead coral. In 2019, the&nbsp;proportion of algal&nbsp;cover is much higher than that of live coral at 52.4 to 15.9%, respectively.&nbsp;&nbsp;"

"Modeled cover of live hard coral (left) and algae (right) for the Caribbean region. The solid line represents the predicted marginal mean and ribbons represent 80% (lighter shade) and 95% (darker shade) credible intervals. Grey areas of the temporal series represent times for which no observed data were available."

"The Caribbean region includes between 9% and 10% of the world’s coral reefs.&nbsp;Coral reefs&nbsp;in&nbsp;the region have been heavily studied, with some data going back to 1970, but with significant increases in monitoring after the mass mortality of the herbivorous sea urchin&nbsp;Diadema&nbsp;antillarum&nbsp;in 1983-1984, as well as after the mass coral bleaching event in 1998. The Caribbean is a partially enclosed sea, with&nbsp;less flushing than the open ocean, and receives&nbsp;inputs from many large rivers and a connection to the Pacific&nbsp;at&nbsp;the Panama Canal.&nbsp;&nbsp;Local threats to coral reefs are relatively high - from overfishing, nutrient runoff from agriculture, coastal development, tourism, sewage pollution,&nbsp;and&nbsp;marine pollution, sometimes including&nbsp;invasive species from ships.&nbsp;These threats reduce the resilience of coral, while warming seas are an increasing and compounding threat.&nbsp;&nbsp; Disease has been an important factor in the decline of Caribbean reefs. White band disease appeared in the 1970s and decimated&nbsp;an important reef-building coral,&nbsp;Acropora&nbsp;palmata&nbsp;(elkhorn coral). During the 1970s, there was also a&nbsp;Caribbean-wide die-off of the long-spined black sea urchin&nbsp;Diadema&nbsp;antillarum,&nbsp;which might have been caused by a pathogen entering through the Panama Canal.&nbsp;The region has also been stressed by the lethal stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), which was first reported in 2014,&nbsp;as well as&nbsp;two species of invasive lionfish, which are native to the Indo-Pacific,&nbsp;have no natural predators in the Caribbean&nbsp;and are&nbsp;ravenous&nbsp;consumers of&nbsp;local&nbsp;species of&nbsp;reef fish.&nbsp;From the mid-1990’s forward, warming seas and coral bleaching have become a major threat.&nbsp; Coral reefs are both culturally and economically important across the Caribbean, where an estimated 100 million people benefit from coral reefs, including 41 million people who are likely highly dependent on reefs for their food or livelihood.&nbsp;Coral reef-associated tourist expenditure in the Caribbean is valued at&nbsp;$9.5 billion annually.&nbsp;Shoreline protection by coral reefs is important for many islands, as well as mainland coasts. Coral ecosystems are of vital importance to countries and territories across the region, but coastal&nbsp;management and development decisions do not always honor their importance.&nbsp;Although&nbsp;40% of Caribbean&nbsp;coral reefs are located within marine protected areas&nbsp;(similar to&nbsp;the global average),&nbsp;only&nbsp;4.6&nbsp;% are&nbsp;in “Fully or Highly Protected” areas. In&nbsp;addition, many&nbsp;MPAs in the region are&nbsp;underfunded, understaffed, and unable to&nbsp;effectively implement&nbsp;regulations.&nbsp;To help Caribbean coral reefs cope with warming seas it is important that local threats be better&nbsp;controlled&nbsp;- including reducing nutrient and pollutant run-off to coastal areas and improving management of ballast water and sewage.&nbsp;In addition, halting the loss of and restoring&nbsp;mangroves would improve water quality and support fisheries.&nbsp;Improved fisheries management is also essential -&nbsp;reducing the catch of herbivorous parrotfish&nbsp;and expanding&nbsp;fully protected&nbsp;replenishment zones for overfished species and to help restore&nbsp;Diadema&nbsp;populations.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For more detail on the&nbsp;Caribbean&nbsp;region and its subregions see the GCRMN global report&nbsp;<a href=\"https://gcrmn.net/2020-report/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 255);\">Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2020</a>, and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https://gcrmn.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Caribbean-Coral-Reefs-Status-Report-1970-2012.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 255);\">2014 GCRMN&nbsp;regional report for the Caribbean</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;"

The Caribbean Region includes the countries and territories of the insular Caribbean (Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles), the mainland countries bordering the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico from Venezuela to Florida in the U.S., and Bermuda. 

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Importance, status and outlook for coral reefs in the Caribbean region

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