The report, which coincided with the UN’s COP16 summit on biodiversity in Colombia, warned that the expansion of oil, gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) resources in the Indo-Pacific region was putting marine life and the communities that depend on them at risk.

The Coral Triangle, called the “Amazon of the Seas” for its diversity of species, covers more than 10 million square kilometers in the waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor and the Solomon Islands.

It contains three-quarters of the world’s known coral species, according to the report by monitoring organizations such as threat mapping research project Earth Insight, satellite imaging observer SkyTruth and the Center for Energy, Ecology and Development, a Filipino think tank.

The triangle is home to six of the world’s seven species of sea turtles and serves as a feeding ground for whales and other marine mammals.

More than 120 million people depend on it for their livelihood.

However, the report states that oil and gas concessions and production areas overlap with marine protected areas of tens of thousands of square kilometers.

It was stated that more than 100 known offshore oil and gas blocks were produced in the region. Another 450 blocks are being explored for future mining.

“If all blocks were to come into production, approximately 16 percent of the Coral Triangle would be directly affected by fossil fuel development,” the report said.

He warned that the expansion of fossil fuels would increase tanker traffic and the risk of oil spills.

The report stated that since July 2020, satellites have detected 793 oil spills in the Coral Triangle.

Almost all of them were created by transit ships, some by oil infrastructure.

“Cumulatively, all the reservoirs covered an area of ​​over 24,000 km2, which is almost enough oil to cover the land in the Solomon Islands,” the report said.

The report’s authors called for a moratorium on oil, gas, mining and other industrial activities in environmentally sensitive areas within the Coral Triangle.

They also called for “a step forward in the use of LNG as a transition fuel” as the world moves away from coal and gas and instead turns directly to clean energy sources.

The report called for the triangle to be designated as a “particularly sensitive maritime area” needing special protection against shipping.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, approved two years ago by 196 parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, set 23 targets to “halt and reverse” biodiversity loss by 2030.

This includes ensuring that 30 percent of marine and coastal areas are “effectively protected and managed” and 30 percent are “under effective restoration.”

A report published by Greenpeace on Monday said that only 8.4 percent of global oceans are protected to date.

“At the current pace, we won’t get to 30 percent marine protection until the next century,” said Greenpeace policy advisor Megan Randles.

The biodiversity summit aimed to measure progress towards meeting UN targets.