Saving a Coral Kingdom

New Disneynature Film "OCEANS"
Benefits Coral Reefs in The Bahamas

Help us celebrate oceans this Earth Day by supporting The Nature Conservancy’s work to protect coral reefs. For nearly two decades, supporters have been protecting this treasured marine habitat through the Conservancy’s Adopt a Coral Reef Program.

This year, you’ll have a unique opportunity to support the Conservancy’s work in The Bahamas when Disneynature’s new film OCEANS opens in movie theaters across the United States and Canada on Earth Day 2010. In honor of each moviegoer who sees the movie during its opening week (April 22 through April 28), Disneynature will give a portion of ticket sales to The Nature Conservancy to help protect coral reefs.

Through this effort, Disneynature, through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, and the Conservancy will support the expansion and management of new marine parks through the new Adopt a Coral Reef project in The Bahamas. Read about more Adopt a Coral Reef programs.

Threats to Coral Reefs – and Hope to Protect Them

If we don’t act now, the corals of the Caribbean Sea — and the fantastic fish and ocean life that depend on them — could be gone in less than 50 years due to rising sea temperatures, overuse and other challenges.

But there is hope. Caribbean people have a strong will for conservation, and The Bahamas is taking steps to protect some of the most pristine and productive waters surviving in the Caribbean — including extending legal protection to all species of sea turtles found within the country’s waters.

That’s why the Conservancy and its partner The Bahamas National Trust — with the help of Disney — aim to support the doubling of marine parks in the Bahamas by protecting 500,000 acres of important habitat. These new and expanded protected areas will contain miles of vital coral reefs that provide natural habitat and feeding grounds for hundreds of marine species.

Such important work in The Bahamas is increasing conservation momentum throughout the whole Caribbean. You can help Disney and the Conservancy save the Caribbean’s coral reefs by seeing Disneynature’s OCEANS during its opening week. Save oceans by seeing OCEANS!

Adopt a Coral Reef in The Bahamas

Coral reefs are undoubtedly beautiful, but they are so much more:

• They give life to the oceans – and seafood on the world’s table, providing the primary source of protein for more than 1 billion people.
• They provide the basic raw materials for thousands of lifesaving medicines, from the antiretroviral drug AZT to treatments for heart disease, skin cancer and leukemia.
• They also provide us with spectacular recreational opportunities such as diving, snorkeling and sportfishing (catch and release, please).

The Nature Conservancy’s Adopt a Coral Reef program provides critical funds for the permanent protection and restoration of the most biologically diverse and fragile coral reefs in the world.

Since the Conservancy’s Adopt a Coral Reef program began in 1991, thousands of individuals, schools and corporations have joined together to protect imperiled coral reefs across the globe. Currently, the program is focused on protecting coral reefs in:

• The Bahamas
• The Dominican Republic
• Papua New Guinea
• Palau

As a leading global conservation organization, the Conservancy manages more than 100 marine conservation projects in 31 countries and in all U.S. coastal states.

How You Can Help

Here are five things you can do to help protect coral reefs:

1. Adopt a Coral Reef in one of four reef adoption locations.
2. Attend OCEANS during opening week, April 22 – April 28, 2010, and a portion of your ticket sales will benefit the Conservancy’s Adopt a Coral Reef program.
3. Join our e-newsletter list and learn more about our marine and coral reef work.
4. Send a Coral Reef e-card to a friend and invite them to join you opening week for OCEANS
5. Share the OCEANS movie trailer with a friend. Email, tweet or post this video URL to the movie trailer to your social media profile

For more ideas, read our tips to help protect coral reefs.

In honor of each moviegoer who sees the movie during opening week (April 22-28), Disneynature will give $0.20 for each ticket sold to The Nature Conservancy's Adopt a Coral Reef program.

Photo © Jeff Yonover.

You can help save our precious coral reefs in the Caribbean and around the world. Adopt a coral reef today!