Protecting Reefs for Human and Marine Health

Climate change is already affecting the health of coral ecosystems. Microbial communities — where many new drugs could likely be found — are especially susceptible to these changes, and some are already beginning to decline or migrate.“An estimated 95 percent of the world’s oceans remain unexplored, so it’s possible that we might lose significant marine organisms without ever knowing they existed in the first place,” explains Stephanie Wear, a marine scientist on the Conservancy’s Global Marine Team. “A devastating loss of biodiversity could mean that fewer species will be around for future medicinal research and biomedical studies.”By protecting marine environments through the creation of marine protected areas and the development of adaptation strategies, the Conservancy is safeguarding marine biodiversity. People and nature are already benefitting in so many ways from these marine protected areas. Just imagine what medical benefits may still lay undiscovered beneath the sea.