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Outline the issues concerning the degradation of coral reefs and the ways in which people are responding to these impacts. Coral reefs have been described as the oceans rainforests, due to the rich diversity of life they can support. However, although the area of tropical warm water that can support reefs is vast, reef communities are becoming increasingly and worryingly rare. The largest reef of all is the Great Barrier Reef, which is 1500 km long, although it actually exists as approximately 2900 separate reefs. There are three main types of reef which are defined by the way they develop. They are fringing reefs, barrier reefs and atolls. Their structures are never the same but they share distinctive general structures. Fringing reefs are found close to shore and are separated from land by only a shallow stretch of water. Barrier reefs lie further offshore and are separated from land by large lagoons of up to 10 metres deep. Atolls form far offshore in a ring shape around circular lagoons. Reefs are valuable resources for countries as well as communities. They are used as a source of f