IUCN Study Declares All 13 South Asian Coral Reef Ecoregions Critically Endangered

Key facts

• A study titled 'Red List of Ecosystems Assessment of South Asian Coral Reefs', published on October 22, 2026 under the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, classified all 13 South Asian coral reef ecoregions as Critically Endangered.
• The assessment was co-authored by scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), including Dr. C Raghunathan, Dr. Tamal Mondal, Dr. J S Yogesh Kumar and Dr. Chandran Rethinaraj.
• The 13 ecoregions cover about 8,282.6 sq km across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago, roughly 4% of the world's coral reef area.
• India has four ecoregions: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep Islands, the south coast (Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay) and the west coast (Gulf of Kutch).
• Based on the past 50 years of data alone, the reefs were classified as seven Vulnerable, four Endangered and two Critically Endangered; including projected marine heat stress elevated all 13 to Critically Endangered.
• Globally, 96% of assessed coral reef units, representing 99.8% of assessed reef area, received the same classification under future ocean-warming scenarios.
• The assessment was unveiled at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia.
• Under criterion E, Critically Endangered formally represents a 50% probability of ecosystem collapse within 50 years, and ecosystem collapse is theoretically reversible unlike species extinction.