site

  1. myWWF Sign in
  2. Sign up
  3. Help
  1. Home
  2. Who We Are
  3. What We Do
  4. About Our Earth
  5. How You Can Help
  6. News
  7. Climate
  1. Home
    1. What We Do
      1. Priority Places
        1. Coral Triangle, SE Asia

The Coral Triangle Numbers

  • 6 million km2 area
  • 75% of the world’s coral species
  • 6 of the world’s 7 marine turtle species
  • Sustains 120 million people
  • US$12 billion nature-based tourism industry (yearly)

Why is the Coral Triangle important?

Bookmark and Share


Watch this stunning short film about the Coral Triangle by award-winning director Rupert Murray, and see his latest feature documentary film The End of the Line in cinemas from June 2009.

Dive in

The Coral Triangle is many things ... a quiet lagoon with mangroves and fine white sand that was never fouled by a plastic sandal ... a crate of gigantic yellowfin tuna for sale at a swarming fish market ... people who believe that their ancestors often live on as sharks, and summon them by the banging of rocks underwater.1 Or a sperm whale on a solo journey across the Java Sea.

Covering nearly 6 million km2 of ocean across all, or parts of, the seas of 6 countries in the Indo-Pacific—Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste—the Coral Triangle is a myriad of life forms and lifestyles.

In this massive area, more than half of the world’s reefs and 75% of the world’s coral species, 40% of the world's coral reef fish species, and 6 of the world’s 7 species of marine turtle have found a place to thrive.

The Coral Triangle is also part of a wider region that contains 51 of the world's 70 mangrove species and 23 of the 50 seagrass species.2
Coral Triangle Boundary

Why the Coral Triangle (and not a circle)?

The Coral Triangle is defined by marine zones containing at least 500 species of reef-building coral—the darkest area that is roughly triangular in shape shown in the map above.

Certain neighbouring countries, including Australia and Fiji, contain rich coral biodiversity as well, but with somewhat lower numbers.
Local fishermen with tuna catch Sulu Sea, Philippines

Below and above the sea, substantial economic value

The Coral Triangle supports livelihoods and provides income and food security, particularly for coastal communities. Resources from the area directly sustain more than 120 million people living in the area.

The Coral Triangle’s economic value is nothing short of phenomenal:
  • Total annual values of coral reefs, mangroves and other natural habitats within the Coral Triangle are estimated at more than US$2.3 billion
  • Tuna spawning and nursery grounds support a multi-billion dollar tuna industry and supply millions of consumers worldwide
  • Marine resources contribute to a growing nature-based tourism industry, valued at over US$12 billion annually

Economic growth brings new pressures on the Coral Triangle

The Coral Triangle is part of an area that has emerged as one of the planet’s economic hubs. Fast population and economic growth have fuelled unsustainable coastal development and boosted demand for expensive marine resources such as tuna, shark fin, turtle products and live reef fish.

Now, the challenge is to ensure that the growing needs of the region do not make the wonders of the Coral Triangle something of the past…
1 http://www.essortment.com/travel/destinationattr_sypc.htm
2 http://www.wri.org/publication/content/8450 

Photos and graphics © WWF or used with permission. Text available under a Creative Commons licence. RSS/Web Feeds

@import url('http://s3.amazonaws.com/getsatisfaction.com/feedback/feedback.css');