--- title: Coral Reefs Declining But Can Be Saved, Report Says description: A staggering decline but also a way to reverse it canonical: https://time.com/2950243/coral-reefs-conservation-report/ author: Hannah Goldberg article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-02T16:27:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:56:39.926Z article:section: Science og:title: Coral Reefs Declining But Can Be Saved, Report Says og:description: A staggering decline but also a way to reverse it og:url: https://time.com/2950243/coral-reefs-conservation-report/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt042ed41316343dc7/69869a49d0b6f272b63051fc/coral-reefs.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5120 og:image:height: 2880 og:image:alt: School of smallmouth grunts (Haemulon chrysargyreum) over the coral reef Curacao, Netherlands Antilles og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Coral Reefs Declining But Can Be Saved, Report Says twitter:description: A staggering decline but also a way to reverse it twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt042ed41316343dc7/69869a49d0b6f272b63051fc/coral-reefs.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Report Sees a Glimmer of Hope for Coral Reefs > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Hannah Goldberg](https://time.com/author/hannah-goldberg/) ## Hannah Goldberg Jul 2, 2014 4:27 PM UTC  School of smallmouth grunts (Haemulon chrysargyreum) over the coral reef, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. School of smallmouth grunts (Haemulon chrysargyreum) over the coral reef, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. UIG /Getty Images by [Hannah Goldberg](https://time.com/author/hannah-goldberg/) ## Hannah Goldberg Jul 2, 2014 4:27 PM UTC The rapid decline in Caribbean coral reefs is a result of fewer grazing species, but the right action can still reverse the decline, according to [a new report](http://www.iucn.org/?uNewsID=16056). The _Status and Trends of Caribbean Coral Reefs: 1970-2012_ report was conducted in a joint effort by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The rate of coral reef decline is staggering—almost 50% of reefs have disappeared since the 1970s, the report says. Researchers attribute the loss to the decline of reef grazers like the parrotfish and sea urchin. “But this study brings some very encouraging news: the fate of Caribbean corals is not beyond our control and there are some very concrete steps that we can take to help them recover,” Carl Gustaf Lundin, Director of IUCN’s Global Marine and Polar Programme, said in a statement. Countries with restricted fishing and hunting bans have the healthiest reefs, helping to encourage the rejuvenation of grazing populations. The report encourages others to follow their lead. “This is the kind of aggressive management that needs to be replicated regionally if we are going to increase the resilience of Caribbean reefs,” said Ayana Johnson of the Waitt Institute’s Blue Halo Initiative. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2950243/coral-reefs-conservation-report/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2950243/coral-reefs-conservation-report/"},"headline":"Report Sees a Glimmer of Hope for Coral Reefs","datePublished":"2014-07-02T16:27:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:56:39.926Z","description":"A staggering decline but also a way to reverse it","url":"https://time.com/2950243/coral-reefs-conservation-report/","keywords":["Environment","Conservation","World","Caribbean"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt042ed41316343dc7/69869a49d0b6f272b63051fc/coral-reefs.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Hannah Goldberg","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/hannah-goldberg/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt042ed41316343dc7/69869a49d0b6f272b63051fc/coral-reefs.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"School of smallmouth grunts (Haemulon chrysargyreum) over the coral reef Curacao, Netherlands Antilles","caption":"School of smallmouth grunts (Haemulon chrysargyreum) over the coral reef Curacao, Netherlands Antilles","creditText":"UIG /Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2950243/coral-reefs-conservation-report/","name":"Report Sees a Glimmer of Hope for Coral Reefs"}}]}] ```