Fifth of world's corals already dead, say experts

December 10th, 2008 in Biology /
Half a billion people depend on coral reefs for food and tourism, according to a common estimate

An environmental management specialist of the Batangas city fisheries office inspects a coral reef formation in the Verde sea passage south of Manila, Philippines, February 2007. Almost a fifth of the planet's coral reefs have died and carbon emissions are largely to blame, according to an NGO study released Wednesday.

Almost a fifth of the planet's coral reefs have died and carbon emissions are largely to blame, according to an NGO study released Wednesday.

Content from AFP expires 1 month after original publication date. For more information about AFP, please visit www.afp.com .