"<h2>Reef-Dependent Population</h2>In the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), 8 million people benefit from coral reefs, including 2.5 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 ETP is valued at $500 million 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

"Less than 1% of the world's coral reefs are in the ETP. 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;343&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;0.2%<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;780&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;0.3%<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; 55% of the ETP's coral reefs are located within marine protected areas; 18% in “Fully or Highly Protected” areas."

"<h2>Mangroves</h2>The ETP region possesses about 7% of the world's mapped mangroves. Between 1996 and 2016, the region lost 5% of its mangrove area (a net loss of 491 km²). This net change included both 885 km² of loss and 393 km² of gain. As of 2016, the region had 9,415 km² of mangrove forest."

Ecosystems

Protected Areas

Coral Reefs, Mangroves, and Protection

"<h2>Local Threats</h2>Local activities and pollution threaten 85% of reefs in the ETP. Overfishing and land-based sources of pollution are the most pervasive threats.&nbsp;&nbsp;"

"<h2>Coral Bleaching Conditions</h2>In the ETP, over half of 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 90% of the region’s reefs."

"<h2>Ocean Acidification</h2>By the 2030’s almost all reefs in the ETP will be in areas rated as poor for coral growth, based on ocean acidity and the availability of aragonite, a mineral important for coral growth.&nbsp;"

Habitats

Local Threats

Global Threats

Local and Global Threats to Coral Reefs

"<h2>Live Hard Coral Cover</h2>The average cover of live hard coral on coral reefs in the ETP region has declined progressively from 34.6% in 1998 to 22.4% in 2016,&nbsp;with the exception of&nbsp;small increases in 2000 and 2010. This equates to a relative decline of 35%. Since 2016, the cover of hard coral has been remained around 22.8%, though data were limited for 2018 and 2019.&nbsp;&nbsp;"

"<h2>Algae Cover</h2>The average cover of algae has increased across the region from 40.9% in 1998 to 49.1% in 2019 (a relative increase of 20%). There was a progressive increase in algal cover between 2001 and 2007, followed by a gradual decline until 2015. However, dramatic increases in the cover of algae were recorded in 2016 and 2017 associated with an unusual warm period across much of the region.&nbsp;&nbsp;"

"Modeled cover of live hard coral cover (left) and algae (right) for the ETP 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."

"<h1>Summary</h1> The ETP region&nbsp;comprises&nbsp;less than 0.5% of the world’s coral reefs, but includes 47 species of hard, reef-building coral, eight of which are endemic.&nbsp;&nbsp;Artisanal fishing and tourism provide an important economic basis for many coastal communities, with an estimated&nbsp;2.5&nbsp;million&nbsp;people&nbsp;who are likely highly dependent on reefs for their food or livelihood.&nbsp;&nbsp;Coral reef-associated tourist expenditure in the ETP is valued at US$500 million annually.&nbsp;&nbsp; Local threats are relatively high across the region.&nbsp;Coastal development, eutrophication and poor land use practices have increased during the last&nbsp;20 years, supplying sediment and nutrients which&nbsp;harm&nbsp;coral and&nbsp;promote algae.&nbsp;Overfishing has reduced&nbsp;key coral reef grazers, which help to keep algae in check.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As the&nbsp;ETP&nbsp;is&nbsp;strongly influenced by&nbsp;El Niño and the Southern Oscillation&nbsp;(ENSO)&nbsp;and other climatic events, coral reefs&nbsp;in&nbsp;the region may be more resilient to climate fluctuations than previously thought, although there has been a decline in live coral cover since the severe ENSO event of 1997-1998.&nbsp;The ETP has relatively low surface pH values and low&nbsp;saturation of&nbsp;aragonite,&nbsp;a mineral&nbsp;necessary for reef-building. Ocean acidification is likely to become an increasing threat to coral in the ETP.&nbsp;&nbsp; The ETP region is fortunate to have a number of large marine protected areas (MPAs), which predominantly occur around islands or in offshore areas (e.g.&nbsp;Coiba, Panama; Galápagos Islands).&nbsp;55% percent of the&nbsp;region’s&nbsp;coral reefs are located within&nbsp;MPAs, with 18% of these are in “Fully or Highly Protected” areas.&nbsp;These large MPAs serve as important reference points to assess broader regional change and to better understand ecosystem recovery and resilience across&nbsp;the region.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For more detail on the&nbsp;Eastern Tropical&nbsp;Pacific 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, 112, 192);\">Status of Coral Reefs of the&nbsp;World: 2020</a>.&nbsp;"

The Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) comprises the ocean basin extending from the Gulf of California in México to Peru and includes areas of the continental shelf and offshore islands (Coco Island, the Galápagos Islands, the Revillagigedo Archipelago and Clipperton Atoll). Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Columbia and Ecuador have coral reefs. The region is bounded by subtropical gyres of the North and South Pacific and the equatorial current system of the Eastern Pacific, which results in limited connectivity with the Western Pacific.

Coral Reefs: Eastern Tropical Pacific

Importance, status and outlook for coral reefs in the Eastern Tropical Pacific region

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Coral Reefs: Eastern Tropical Pacific

Importance, status and outlook for coral reefs in the Eastern Tropical Pacific region

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