(FILES) View of the invasive coral Unomia Stolonifera proliferating on coral reefs at Valle Seco beach in Choni, Aragua state, Venezuela on April 21, 2023. Coral reefs could vanish in as little as a decade, warned a landmark UN report by dozens of global experts on December 17, 2024, impacting nearly one billion people who benefit from these highly threatened marine ecosystems. "Coral reefs are the most endangered ecosystems and may disappear globally in the next 10 to 50 years," said the report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. (Photo by Yuri CORTEZ / AFP) (Photo by YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images)