Coral reefs are one of the most beautiful and valuable ecosystems on the planet, and they are also highly endangered. Tourism, destructive fishing, climate change, coastal development and other human activities are putting our coral reefs at risk. More than a third of the planet's coral reefs will disappear within our lifetime. This means a devastating loss of income, food and scientific discoveries. There is still hope for coral reefs, no matter how bad the outlook may seem. Conservation projects in countries around the world have led to initiatives to conserve coral reefs. Coral reef protection is underway around the world and is considered one of the best ways to achieve this. Human activity directly and indirectly causes damage to coral reefs. There are three main types of reefs, namely fringing reef, barrier reef and atoll reef. The fringing reef either has a completely shallow back reef area (i.e. a lagoon) or nothing at all. The coral reef is a reef separated from the mainland or island coast by a deep channel or lagoon. The reef of an atoll is a more or less circular or continuous coral reef that goes all the way around a lagoon, without a central island. Other types of reef include patch reef, apron reef, bank reef, ribbon reef, table reef, habili, microatoll, cays, and seamount or guyot. Many corals make up the coral reef. Some include stony corals, Elkhorn corals, sea fans and sponges. Scleractinia, also known as stony or stony corals, are corals that create a hard skeleton. Much of the structure of modern coral reefs is made up of Scleractinians. The number of hard or stony corals is likely to decline due to the effects of global warming. Elkhorn coral is considered one of the most vital reef-building corals. ...... middle of paper ...... the world's reefs have died due to rising water temperatures. Bleaching makes corals susceptible to disease, while severe bleaching kills them. It is estimated that 10% of the world's coral reefs are dead and 60% of the world's coral reefs are in danger due to tourism. There are many ways for everyone to make a difference to our planet's coral reefs. Ways to help are to save water, reduce pollution (on foot, by bike or by bus) and use organic or eco-friendly fertilizers. Not littering is another way to protect the reef. Any type of trash can pollute the water and harm the reef and the fish that live there. When diving, do not touch the reef. If you are sailing, do not anchor your boat at the reef. It's common sense, we are one of the reasons the coral reef is being destroyed. We impact it both knowingly and unconsciously. Why not start by protecting our coral reefs?