Coral Reefs – Rainforests of the Sea

Dazzling, colourful, breathtaking.

These are just some of the words used to describe coral reefs. The “rainforests of the sea” are the world’s most biologically diverse marine ecosystem. Home to a quarter of all ocean dwelling fish, coral reefs also feed, protect and inspire hundreds of millions of people around the world. More importantly, the health of coral reefs is a sensitive barometer for the health of our oceans and our planet.

Sadly, coral reefs are in trouble:

• Over the last decade, 15% of the world’s reefs have been lost, mainly due to poorly planing and pollution
• further 30% of reefs are severely threatened.

People have caused the problem. We can provide the solution. The non-profit Reef Check Foundation was established in the USA in 1997 to reverse the coral crisis. The Reef Check survey methodology, designed for use by non-scientists, is a very simple way of measuring the health of coral reefs. Reef Check teams
around the world survey reefs to determine their health, and find solutions to conserve them.

But most surveys are conducted by volunteers. Lack of funding sometimes means these teams cannot conduct regular surveys, preventing Reef Check from being able to continue with a comprehensive
programme.

You can help Reef Check in Malaysia by joining our “Adopt a Reef”
programme. We have four “Adopt a Reef” options:

• Exclusive: RM 50,000 and above
• Corporate Team: RM 20,000
• Survey: RM 5,000 (single site) – RM 10,000 (two sites)
• Basic: RM 1,000.

All sponsors of the “Adopt a Reef” program receive a variety of benefits, including sponsorship recognition and regular reports on their reef. In addition to supporting a survey team, you help
fund vital conservation programs and continue to support Reef Check’s mission of “Saving coral reefs world wide through research, education and conservation”.