We are excited to participate in this year’s #GivingTuesday by highlighting the importance of the world’s coral reefs. Starting tomorrow, November 22, we will curate an underwater journey for you and CORAL’s supporters to celebrate the various marine life, people and organizations that are integral to creating and maintaining healthy coral reefs. You can follow along via Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
As many of you know, #GivingTuesday was created to harness our world’s global giving power, encourage philanthropy and celebrate generosity. For us here at CORAL, coral reefs are an embodiment of this giving spirit. They help protect two million marine species and five hundred million people that depend on them. We encourage all of you to #GiveToReefs given how much reefs give back to us.
Here’s a sneak preview of a just a few of the ways that coral reefs give back to our planet and people:
- Biodiversity: Coral reefs are one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet including over 800 hard coral species and more than 4,000 species of fish.
- Coastal Protection: Coral reefs provide an important buffer zone for coastal communities helping to absorb the force of ocean waves protecting shorelines from currents, waves and storms mitigating the loss of life, property damage and beach erosion.
- Fisheries: Coral reefs are an abundant source of fish for the global fishing industry contributing an estimated $5.7 billion annually to the globally economy.
- Medicine: In recent years, many species of plant and animals found living on coral reefs are proving to be an important source of new medicines to treat cancer, arthritis, bacterial infections and many other diseases.
- Tourism and Recreation: Every year, millions of scuba divers and snorkelers spend roughly $9.6 billion to visit coral reefs and experience their breathtaking beauty and rich diversity in person.
Coral reefs will be unable to keep giving back in these ways without our support. Coral reefs need people like you to help them thrive. Together, we can save coral reefs.
Join us on our underwater journey via Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. And on November 29, celebrate #GivingTuesday with us and #GiveToReefs.
For more details about #GivingTuesday, visit givingtuesday.org.