Scientists warn that biodiversity is on a dangerous decline and poses threats to the well-being of humans.

A new report from a UN-backed organization that analyzes biodiversity says pollution and climate change are causing severe damage to the world's coral reefs.

In the Asian-Pacific region, the report estimates 90 percent of coral reefs will be lost to degradation by 2050. Coral degradation can have far reaching effects on fisheries, food security, tourism and marine wildlife.

This week on Noon Edition, our panelists discussed coral reef degradation.

Guests:

Zack Rago: Educator, Reef Aquarist and Documentary Subject of "Chasing Coral", Denver, CO

Casey Vallee: Dive Technician, Southern Indiana Scuba, Bloomington, IN

Conversation: Why Coral Reefs Are Degrading At Alarming Rates

The Netflix documentary "Chasing Coral" follows a team of divers, photographers, and scientists as they try to capture the disappearance of the world's coral reefs.

Zack Rago is an ocean advocate and self-proclaimed "coral nerd" that became a subject of the documentary. Rago says we are in an assessment period when it comes to measuring the amount of devastation.

"You'd be hard-pressed to say that there isn't a reef in the world that haven't seen some form of stressors," he says. "We've certainly seen some really large devastation worldwide."

Casey Vallee is a dive technician at Southern Indiana Scuba and studies anthropology, geography, and ocean technology at Indiana University. She's dived on reefs in the Florida Keys, Dominican Republic, and Cozumel, Mexico.

Vallee says what is happening to reefs says a lot about humankind, and although coral is degrading, they could be more resilient than we are.

"Maybe life can still sustain itself, but maybe not human life. With all the storms that result of this, and the ocean getting warmer and the whole planet getting warmer, we might wipe ourselves out before we wipe out other life." Vallee says. "Corals are hardy and they can survive and they can keep repopulating in different area. So ultimately I think it's a reflection of how the human species is going to do."