Talking about Bali, certainly, we will talk about the beauty of the beach and sea. For example, kintamani, Nusa Penida, and Nusa Dua have their beauty. For instance, Nusa Penida is famous for its stunning diversity of coral reefs.
Coral reefs in Indonesia have a fairly large area, about 1/8 of the world’s coral reefs are in Indonesia. Coral reefs have considerable benefits, especially for the survival of living things and the environment. For example, as a place to live and a food source for marine animals, it protects the marine and coastal ecosystems from big waves, and can also reduce global warming. In addition, it has become a national asset in nautical tourism.
Of these many benefits, coral reefs must be preserved so that the environment and marine animals remain safe. It is estimated that coral reef ecosystems in Indonesia reach 2.5 million ha. This amount is certainly not small, so it is necessary to preserve the coral reefs.
To awaken the importance of coral reefs, it is better to first get acquainted with this marine biota. Coral reefs in Indonesia have several types. What are the classes? The following types of coral reefs are classified by region.
Fringing Reef
This type of coral reef is a reef along the coast that is 40 meters deep and is usually present at the surface of the open ocean. One type of raja ampat coral reef is a fringing reef with gently sloping to steep contours. Apart from Raja Ampat, you can also find the fringing reefs in Nusa Dua, Bunaken, and Panaitan Island in Banten.
Barrier Reef
A barrier reef is located about 0.52 kilometers from the open sea with a depth of 75 meters. The shape is unique, resembling a water column with a width of tens of kilos. Usually, this type of coral reef is located on a large island and forms a cluster of disconnected coral islands. One of them is in the Banggai Islands, Central Sulawesi.
Flat Coral Reef
Flat coral reefs are usually found in shallow open waters. This coral reef grows from the bottom towards the sea surface. Over a long time, flat coral reefs can form an island. You can visit the Thousand Islands and Ujung Batu Islands in Aceh if you want to see flat coral reefs.
Ring Coral Reef
Usually, ring coral reefs are known as atols. Ring coral reefs are found in deep ocean waters, shaped like rings surrounding volcanic islands. Ring coral reefs are more commonly found around the Atlantic Ocean.
Coral reefs do look strong and sturdy. But if human continue to destroy their ecosystems, such as fishing with bombs, throwing anchors over coral reefs, excessive mining of coral for building materials, and walking on coral reefs. Eventually there will be damage and even extinction of them. So, let’s love and preserve coral reefs as early as possible, starting now!
