&nbsp;
<style type="text/css">
 </style>
&ldquo;Time is running out&rdquo; to save the Caribbean&rsquo;s coral reefs from dying off, the International Union for Conservation of Nature warned in a report released at its annual conference today. The IUCN report said, on average, only 8 percent of the reefs&rsquo; surface area is live coral, down from 50 percent in the 1970s, <a href="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2012/09/07/caribbean-coral-reefs-in-decline/">Fox News reported</a>.
Reefs in more populated areas have declined the most, the report said, according to <a href="http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/07/13707186-coral-in-caribbean-florida-in-sharp-decline-no-signs-of-slowing-report-finds">NBC News</a>. &quot;Corals declined precipitously on the Jamaican north coast in the 1980s,&rdquo; the report noted, and &ldquo;total coral cover in the Florida Keys, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico &quot;has progressively declined from 25 to 35 percent in the 1970s to less than 15 percent today.&rdquo;
Meanwhile, the report said, in Curacao and Bonaire, live coral cover is hanging on at about 25 to 30 percent, NBC News reported.
The IUCN said overfishing, pollution, disease and bleaching caused by rising global temperatures are behind the coral&rsquo;s demise, according to Fox News.
&quot;Our preliminary analysis suggests that the state of Caribbean reefs continues to worsen, primarily due to ocean warming,&quot; John Bruno, a University of North Carolina marine biologist who contributed data to the report, told NBC News. &quot;To reverse this dire trend, job one is to halt the increase of greenhouse gas emissions.&quot;
More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/indonesia/090518/saving-the-coral-triangle">Saving the &lsquo;Coral Triangle&rsquo;</a>
The IUCN called on countries with coral reefs to limit fishing, create or expand marine protected areas and take steps to prevent pollutants like sewage and fertilizer runoff from reaching the sea, NBC News reported.
&ldquo;Looking forward, there is an urgent need to immediately and drastically reduce all human impacts if coral reefs and the vitally important fisheries that depend on them are to survive in the decades to come,&rdquo; Carl Gustaf Lundin, Director of IUCN&rsquo;s Global Marine and Polar Programme, said in a press release, according to Fox News.
More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/talk-about-reefer-fish-parasitic-crustacean-named-after-b">Talk about a reefer fish: parasitic crustacean named after Bob Marley</a> 
	&nbsp;

News Desk

Americas

Business, Economics and Jobs

Paraguay's soy bonanza leaves small farmers in the cold

Paraguay’s soy bonanza leaves small farmers in the cold

Brazil’s 'Dubai' has a new inspiration: Orlando

Development

Move over Orlando, Brazil’s Balneário Camboriú is on the rise

Green tea farmers struggle for economic survival

Japan in Focus

The precarious state of green tea in Japan

How a large migration of Venezuelans could impact Latin America and the US

Migration

Nearly half of Venezuelans are considering leaving the country in the coming months, poll says

GlobalPost

Story

Caribbean coral reefs: “time is running out” to save them, says IUCN report

1 year since the start of Israel's attacks in Gaza, life is dire

Israel-Hamas war

1 year since the start of Israel’s attacks in Gaza, life is dire 

Out of Eden Walk: An untold history of the US presence in Korea

Out of Eden Walk

Why a megacity in India is reviving the humble water well

Environment

How 1 Indigenous language has survived

Language

‘Guaraní is identity’: How an Indigenous Paraguayan language has endured through the ages

Inside Itaipu hydroelectric dam: A symbol of cross-border cooperation

Infrastructure

The Itaipu dam: A massive binational collaboration between Paraguay and Brazil

'A whole lot of goodness' in contemporary African cooking

Food

‘A whole bunch of goodness’: Chef Alexander Smalls talks about new cookbook of African home cooking

Belarussian play stars Olympic athlete

Arts, Culture & Media

Belarusian play starring Olympic basketball player sheds light on life under a repressive regime

Environmental concerns impact beloved Hindu festival in India

Lifestyle & Belief

A catalog of 'living wonders'

Books

New book is a catalog of ‘living wonders’

The World's Podcast

Global Hit

Ways to Listen

The World Stations

Listen

Top of the World daily newsletter

Critical State

Newsletters

Conflict & Justice

Culture & Society

Development & Education

Health & Medicine

Immigration

Money

Politics

Science & Environment

Technology

Women & Gender

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

About Us

Contact

Donate Now

About

Donate

Meet the Team

Privacy

Terms of use

Take the survey

cG9zdDo2NDczMDY=

cG9zdDo2Mzk5NjM=

Subscribe

cG9zdDo2Mzk5NjU=

I have read and agree to your <a href="https://theworld.org/privacy" target="_blank">Privacy Policy</a>.