Why Are Coral Reefs so Important to the Well-Being of Humans?

330 Words2 Pages
Why are coral reefs so important to the well-being of humans? (10 marks) Economically, the coral reefs provide humans with resources and services worth billions of dollars every year. Around the world, millions of people and thousands of communities depend on coral reefs for protection of coastlines, food and jobs. In American Samoa which is one of the U.S. territories, coral reefs play a very important cultural role and also supplies over 50 percent of all the fish caught locally for food. As well as playing the role of supplying food and jobs, there is also a huge tourist attraction that comes along with the reefs. In Florida the reefs on the coasts of Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Diade and Monroe generated roughly 4.4 billion dollars through the activities carried out on them. They also provided 70,500 full and part-time jobs. These reefs were estimated to have an asset value of 8.5 billion dollars. As well as providing economic revenue to the communities surrounding the area in which the reefs are situated, they are also a good method of coastal protection. They effectively break the power of incoming waves during storms, hurricanes and tsunamis. As a result of protecting the coasts from potential disaster waves the reefs save billions of dollars each year in terms of building reconstruction costs and reduced insurance. Another reason why the coral reefs are so important to the well-being of humans is the way it contributes to medical advances. Coral reef organisms are being used in treatments for diseases like cancer and HIV. Scientists will never know how many treatments thee reefs will be able to source, therefore keeping them health is very important. Finally is the intrinsic value of the reefs. They play a major part within different cultures around the world. As well as providing the locals with somewhere to snorkel

More about Why Are Coral Reefs so Important to the Well-Being of Humans?

Open Document