Over the past twenty years, biologically productive coral around the world has been destroyed five times faster than tropical rainforests. And similarly to forests, coral reefs are the source of medicines, chemicals and other valuable resources. The pace of destruction has doubled in the past decade and some corals surrounding the Galapagos are near extinction. More than a quarter of the world’s reefs have already been killed and another 50 percent are threatened. The Caribbean has lost 80 percent of its reefs in the last three decades. Coral reefs are home to 25 percent of the animals and plants that live in the ocean.