A large portion of the reef is protected by the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, which includes seven
marine reserves, 450
cayes, and three
atolls. It totals in area, including: •
Glover's Reef Marine Reserve •
Great Blue Hole •
South Water Caye Marine Reserve •
Half Moon Caye Natural Monument •
Hol Chan Marine Reserve • Cayes include:
Ambergris Caye,
Caye Caulker,
Caye Chapel,
Carrie Bow Caye,
St. George's Caye, English Caye, Rendezvous Caye, Gladden Caye, Ranguana Caye,
Long Caye,
Moho Caye, Blackbird Caye, Three Corner Caye,
Northern Caye,
Tobacco Caye, and
Sandbore Caye. In 1996 the reserve system was designated a
World Heritage Site due to its vulnerability and the fact that it contains the most important and significant natural habitats for
in-situ conservation of
biological diversity (according to criteria VII, IX, and X). Belize became the first country in the world to completely ban
bottom trawling in December 2010. In December 2015, Belize banned offshore oil drilling within 1 km of the Barrier Reef. Despite these protective measures, the reef remains under threat from
oceanic pollution as well as uncontrolled tourism, shipping, and fishing. Other threats include hurricanes, along with
global warming and the resulting increase in ocean temperatures, which causes
coral bleaching. It is claimed by scientists that over 40% of Belize's coral reef has been damaged since 1998. The Belize Barrier Reef has been affected by mass-bleaching events. The first mass bleaching occurred in 1995, with an estimated mortality of 10 percent of coral colonies, according to a report by the Coastal Zone Management Institute in Belize. A second mass-bleaching event occurred, when
Hurricane Mitch struck in 1998. Biologists observed a 48 percent reduction in live coral cover across the Belize reef system. Usually, it is hard to distinguish whether the reason for coral bleaching is human activities or natural reasons such as storms or
bacterial fluctuations. In the case of the Belize Barrier Reef, many factors which make the distinction difficult do not apply. Human population in this area is much more sparse than the corresponding areas near other coral reefs, so the human activity and pollution are much lower compared to other coral reefs and the Belize reef system is in a much more enclosed area. When coral bleaching occurs, a large part of the coral dies, and the remaining part of the ecosystem begins the process of repairing the damage. But the chances of recovery are low, as corals that are bleached become much more vulnerable to disease. Disease often kills more corals than the bleaching event itself. With continuous bleaching, the coral reef will have little to no chance of recovery. ==Gallery==