Editing Caribbean Sea (section)

==Ecology==
The Caribbean is the home of about 9% of the world's [[coral reef]]s, covering about {{convert|50000|km2|abbr=on}}, most of which are located off the Caribbean islands and the [[Central America]]n coast.<ref>[http://marine.wri.org/pubs_content_text.cfm?ContentID=744 Status of coral reefs in the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060621003446/http://marine.wri.org/pubs_content_text.cfm?ContentID=744 |date=June 21, 2006 }} World Resource Institute. URL accessed on April 29, 2006.</ref> Among them, the [[Belize Barrier Reef]] stands out, with an area of {{cvt|963|km2}}, which was declared a [[World Heritage Site]] in 1996. It forms part of the [[Great Mayan Reef]] (also known as the [[MBRS]]) and, being more than {{cvt|1000|km|-2}} in length, is the world's second longest. It runs along the Caribbean coasts of [[Mexico]], [[Belize]], [[Guatemala]] and [[Honduras]].

Since 2005, unusually warm Caribbean waters have been increasingly [[Coral bleaching|threatening]] the coral reefs. Coral reefs support some of the most diverse marine habitats in the world, but they are fragile ecosystems. When tropical waters become unusually warm for extended periods of time, microscopic plants called [[zooxanthellae]], which are [[symbiosis|symbiotic]] partners living within the coral [[polyp (zoology)|polyp]] tissues, die off. These plants provide food for the corals and give them their color. The result of the death and dispersal of these tiny plants is called [[coral bleaching]] and can lead to the devastation of large areas of reef. More than 42% of corals are completely bleached, and 95% are experiencing some type of whitening.<ref>[http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/03/mesoamerican-coral-reef-on-the-way-to-becoming-a-marine-desert/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129020115/http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/03/mesoamerican-coral-reef-on-the-way-to-becoming-a-marine-desert/|date=2014-11-29}} Inter Press Service News Agency – Mesoamerican Coral Reef on the way to becoming a Marine Desert</ref> Historically, the Caribbean is thought to contain 14% of the world's coral reefs.<ref>Elder, Danny and Pernetta, John. (1991). ''The Random House Atlas of the Oceans''. New York : Random House. p. 124. {{ISBN|978-0-679-40830-7}}.</ref>

[[File:Belize Barrier Reef from space.png|thumb|center|upright=2.75|The Belize Barrier Reef viewed from the [[International Space Station]] in 2016]]

The habitats supported by the reefs are critical to such tourist activities as [[fishing]] and [[Underwater diving|scuba diving]], and they provide an annual economic value to Caribbean nations of [[US$]]3.1–4.6&nbsp;billion. Continued destruction of the reefs could severely damage the region's economy.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3679332.stm Alarm sounded for Caribbean coral] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812001047/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3679332.stm |date=2011-08-12 }}. BBC News. URL accessed on April 29, 2006.</ref> The ''Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region'' came into effect in 1986 to protect the various endangered marine life of the Caribbean by forbidding human activities that would advance the continued destruction of such marine life in various areas. Currently, the convention has been [[ratified]] by 15 countries.<ref>[http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/international/spaw.htm Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (SPAW)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405200425/http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/international/spaw.htm |date=2018-04-05 }} NOAA Fisheries:
Office of Protected Resources. URL accessed on April 30, 2006.</ref> Also, several charitable organizations have been formed to preserve Caribbean marine life, such as [[Sea Turtle Conservancy]], which seeks to study and protect [[sea turtles]] while educating about them.<ref>[http://www.oriononline.org/pages/ogn/vieworg.cfm?action=one&viewby=name&ogn_org_ID=893 Caribbean Conservation Corporation] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001211906/http://www.oriononline.org/pages/ogn/vieworg.cfm?action=one&viewby=name&ogn_org_ID=893 |date=October 1, 2006 }} Orion Online. URL last accessed May 1, 2006.</ref>

[[File:Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve.jpg|left|thumb|[[Sian Ka'an]] Biosphere Reserve, Mexico]]

In connection with the foregoing, the Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology of the [[National Autonomous University of Mexico]] conducted a regional study funded by the Department of Technical Cooperation of the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]], in which specialists from 11 Latin American countries (Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela) plus Jamaica participated. The study's findings indicate that heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic, and lead have been identified in the coastal zone of the Caribbean Sea. Analysis of toxic metals and hydrocarbons is based on investigation of coastal sediments that have accumulated less than 50 meters deep during the past 150 years. Project results were presented in Vienna at the forum "Water Matters", and the 2011 General Conference of that multilateral organization.<ref>[http://www.dgcs.unam.mx/boletin/bdboletin/2012_046.html Analysis of Contaminants in the Caribbean Sea over the last 150 years] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517101713/http://www.dgcs.unam.mx/boletin/bdboletin/2012_046.html |date=2017-05-17 }}. National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) 2012 (Spa).</ref>

After the Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean Sea is the second-most-polluted sea. Pollution in the form of up to 300,000 tonnes of solid garbage dumped into the Caribbean Sea each year is progressively endangering marine ecosystems, wiping out species, and harming the livelihoods of local people, who rely primarily on tourism and fishing.<ref name=":111">{{Cite web |publisher=European Investment Bank |date=2023-02-23 |title=The Clean Oceans Initiative |url=https://www.eib.org/en/publications/20230014-the-clean-oceans-initiative |language=EN |access-date=2023-02-23 |archive-date=2023-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223145820/https://www.eib.org/en/publications/20230014-the-clean-oceans-initiative |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pollution in the Mediterranean |url=https://www.unep.org/unepmap/resources/factsheets/pollution |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=UNEPMAP |archive-date=2023-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223151121/https://www.unep.org/unepmap/resources/factsheets/pollution |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-10-27 |title=Over 200,000 tonnes of plastic leaking into the Mediterranean each year – IUCN report |url=https://www.iucn.org/news/marine-and-polar/202010/over-200000-tonnes-plastic-leaking-mediterranean-each-year-iucn-report |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=IUCN |language=en |archive-date=2023-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223151121/https://www.iucn.org/news/marine-and-polar/202010/over-200000-tonnes-plastic-leaking-mediterranean-each-year-iucn-report |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Marine Pollution Threatens the Caribbean Sea |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/video/2019/05/30/marine-pollution-threatens-the-caribbean-sea |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=World Bank |language=en |archive-date=2023-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223151128/https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/video/2019/05/30/marine-pollution-threatens-the-caribbean-sea |url-status=live }}</ref>