Coral Reef Conservation for the 21st Century Coral reefs are some of the most valuable and spectacular places on earth. Coral reefs are valuable assets providing food, jobs, protection from storms and billions of dollars in revenues each year to local communities and national economies.
Coral reefs are in crisis.
Reef ecosystems are now being rapidly degraded and destroyed worldwide by a variety of human activities. The coral reef crisis threatens the survival of these valuable and ancient marine ecosystems, and the communities and economies that depend on them. Chaired by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce, the CRTF is composed of the heads of 11 federal agencies and the Governors of 7 states, territories or commonwealths with responsibilities for coral reefs.