Context:

• The International Conference on Status and Protection of Coral Reefs (STAPCOR – 2018) was inaugurated by the Ministry of Environment at Bangaram Island.
• The Theme of this international conference is ‘Reef for Life’.
• Lakshadweep will establish an International Atoll Research Centre, with world class infrastructures for scientific research on corals.

About Status and Protection of Coral Reefs (STAPCOR)

• STAPCOR has been formed to study the effect of climate change and global warming along with Elnino on the corals lead to heavy bleaching internationally during the year 1998.
• This international conference held in every 10 years to review the status and progress of coral reefs all over the world.

About Coral Reefs

• A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals.
• Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate.
• Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.

Types of Coral Reefs:

• Fringing reefs
  (a) They grow near the coastline around islands and continents.
  (b) They are separated from the shore by narrow, shallow lagoons.
  (c) Fringing reefs are the most common type of reef.

• Barrier reefs
  (a) These are parallel to the coastline but are separated by deeper, wider lagoons.
  (b) At their shallowest point, they can reach the water’s surface forming a “barrier” to navigation.
  (c) The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the largest and most famous barrier reef in the world.
• Atolls
  (a) These are rings of coral that create protected lagoons and are usually located in the middle of the sea.
  (b) Atolls usually form when islands surrounded by fringing reefs sink into the sea or the sea level rises around them (these islands are often the tops of underwater volcanoes).

About Bangaram Island:

• Bangaram is an atoll in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India.
• There is a long brackish pond in the center of the island fringed by screwpine and coconut palms.

Source: IE