IN PHOTOS: Re-seeding the Coral Triangle

The Coral Triangle. It's awareness day follows right on the heels of World Ocean Day — fittingly for a space known as the Amazon of the Seas for the stunning, definitely little-understood and certainly over-exploited, just like its above-ground counterpart.

Consisting of 6 million sq. km of marine area in the western Pacific Ocean, the roughly triangular region encompasses the shores and waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and the Solomon Islands.

It is the largest reef system of its kind in the world... and it is dying.

Not just a diversity of corals—76% of all known species can be found here—the Coral Triangle is home to over 6,000 species of fish alone, as well as other wildlife, including 6 of the world's 7 species of sea turtles. It is likely the world's richest representation of marine diversity—and sustains 120 million people in these island and peninsular nations.

No wonder the area is popular with tourists. But in turn, it battles the threats of overfishing and destructive methods of marine exploitation, ecologically unsound urbanization, unsustainable tourism, and of course climate change.

This affects not just global biodiversity and local livelihoods, but food security for communities well beyond this area — the Coral Triangle yields US$ 1 billion worth of annual tuna exports alone.

The WWF (World Wide Fun for Nature) is one of the conservation watchdogs working in this area to sustain, educate (and learn from!) and partner with local governments and coastal communities for long-term, sustainable solutions, including the development of low-footprint aquaculture and fisheries. It is but one of the collaborators in the Coral Triangle Initiative.