Reefs occupy less than 0.2% of the seabed. Yet they run along more than 150 000 km of coastline in more than 100 countries and territories.

By their massive formation between the surface and the first few tens of meters deep, coral reefs are a very effective for absorbing elements coming from the ocean. They absorb waves energy and contribute to environmental protection through the reduction of coastal erosion. They reduce the damage in case of storms, hurricanes, and in some way, the energy of tsunamis. In doing so, they protect both ecosystems located between the reefs and coasts, such as seagrass and lagoon for example, and human settlements located by the sea.

Their impact is so effective that the man mimics immersing concrete structures along some of our fragile coasts.

Without this protective role, some countries in atolls, such as the Maldives, Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands are literally built on coral reefs and would not exist and without the protective fringe.