"<h2>Reef-Dependent Population</h2>In the ROPME region, 35 million people benefit from coral reefs, including 16.5 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 ROPME region is valued at $1 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

"Less than 1% of the world's coral reefs are in the ROPME 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;1,049&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;0.7%<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;2,009&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;0.8%<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; 8% of ROPME coral reefs are located within marine protected areas; 1.4% in “Fully or Highly Protected” areas."

"<h2>Mangroves</h2>The ROPME region has limited mangrove area (about 0.1% of the global total). As of 2016, the region had 168 km² of mangrove forest."

Ecosystems

Protected Areas

Coral Reefs, Mangroves, and Protection

"<h2>Local Threats</h2>Local activities and pollution threaten roughly 85% of ROPME reefs, with overfishing being the most pervasive threat, followed by coastal development. Marine pollution and pollution and sediment from land-based sources also elevate threat in many locations."

"<h2>Coral Bleaching Conditions</h2>By the 2060’s one-third of coral reefs in the ROPME region will experience severe coral bleaching conditions annually. By the 2080s, two-thirds of reefs are projected to experience such conditions."

"<h2>Ocean Acidification</h2>By the 2040s, 40% of coral reefs in ROPME 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 as either marginal or poor."

Habitats

Local Threats

Global Threats

Local and Global Threats to Coral Reefs

"<h2>Live Hard Coral Cover</h2>Live coral cover in the ROPME region has ungulated largely in response to coral bleaching events. Between 1997 (when monitoring began) and 2002, modelled average live coral cover declined from 30.1% to 18.0%. This coincided with the occurrence of two severe bleaching events in 1996 and 1998, which caused widespread coral mortality. From 2002, there was a long period of recovery that extended over a decade, with average live hard coral cover peaking again in 2015 at a level comparable to the earliest pre-bleaching records (30.2%). This was followed by an abrupt decline in coral cover to a record low of 17.9% in 2019, which followed bleaching during the hottest summer on record in the Persian Gulf in 2017. Overall, the region has lost 40% of the living coral cover between 1996 and 2019."

"<h2>Algae Cover</h2>The average cover of algae across the region has been increasing since the early 2000s, from a low of 13.0% in 2003 to a peak of 37.3% in 2018, reflecting algal overgrowth on dead coral skeletons following the summer 2017 bleaching event .&nbsp;"

"Modeled cover of live hard coral cover (left) and algae (right) for the ROPME 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 ROPME region includes less than 1% of the world’s coral reefs, but support an economically important, productive fisheries sector and contribute $1 Billion annually in reef-associated tourism. Although there are many MPAs in the region, only&nbsp;8%&nbsp;of the region’s reefs&nbsp;are in MPAs and&nbsp;1.4%&nbsp;are in fully or highly protected areas.&nbsp;Coral cover&nbsp;has declined&nbsp;from 30% to 18% (since&nbsp;1996), while algal cover has increased from 13% to 37%&nbsp;(since 2003).&nbsp;Coral bleaching is the primary cause of coral loss, although considerable localized degradation and loss has also occurred&nbsp;because of&nbsp;coastal development&nbsp;and overfishing.&nbsp;The ROPME region contains the most thermally tolerant corals in the world, but they live at the limits of their physiological tolerance, given recent extreme thermal anomalies. Thermal anomalies are particularly high in&nbsp;in the&nbsp;enclosed&nbsp;Persian Gulf,&nbsp;which includes three-quarters of the region’s reefs.&nbsp;Projections of stress from ocean acidification are relatively low for this&nbsp;region.&nbsp; For more detail on the ROPME 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 World: 2020</a>.&nbsp;"

The Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment (ROPME) region includes Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (Gulf coast), the United Arab Emirates and eastern Yemen. 

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