In rare good news for coral, the UN agency states that the Belize Barrier Reef is no longer in danger

Belize's coral reef system, a 190-mile-long sample that includes famous sites like the Great Blue Hole, was removed from the list of sites at risk after a massive campaign to protect the structure, announced Tuesday. 39, UN agency.

The monument, designated as a World Heritage Site in 1996, is home to nearly 1,400 species and has been hailed as one of the world's most biodiverse marine sites. But the reef had spent most of the last decade on UNESCO's "endangered" list because of threats from oil exploration, the disappearance of mangroves and illegal land sales.

About 200,000 people, or half of Belize's population, depend on the reef for their livelihood and environmental groups have long warned that a lack of protection could jeopardize the multi-million dollar tourism sector and animals endangered in the region. Manatees and hawksbill turtles.

The government listened and, in December, after years of campaigning, the authorities declared an indefinite moratorium on all exploration and oil drilling activities in the country's waters, a decision that, according UNESCO, justified its removal from the list.

"The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System … is an outstanding natural system consisting of the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, atolls, several hundred cays, forests mangroves, coastal lagoons and estuaries. the region. "The seven sites of the system illustrate the evolutionary history of reef development and provide important habitat for endangered species, including sea turtles, manatees and American marine crocodiles."

Environmental groups have welcomed this news, but have called for action to protect marine sites that face a multitude of threats, from overfishing to global warming.

"The Belizean government deserves to be commended for its partnership with the NGO sector and for taking concrete steps to safeguard this truly special seascape – and this work will continue," said Nicole Auil Gomez, Belize's Director for Wildlife Conservation Society. "We remain optimistic that smart and effective conservation measures, focused on long-term commitments leading to results, can help save World Heritage sites at risk before they disappear.

Marco Lambertini, head of the World Wide Fund for Nature, acknowledged that the popular activism campaign led by Belizeans to help guarantee guarantees, shows that it is possible "to reverse the loss of nature and create a sustainable future ".

"We witnessed an incredible turnaround when the reef was threatened by seismic testing for oil just 18 months ago," Lambertini told Agence France-Presse. "Belizeans stood up to protect their reef, with hundreds of thousands of others on a global scale joining the campaign to save our common heritage.

Despite the encouraging signs, many of the world's corals face a growing threat in the form of climate change, including the world's largest structure, the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. Earlier this year, scientists said that massive coral bleaching events have become so common that many reefs do not have enough time to recover between episodes.