Grand Kidal Reef

The Grand Kidal Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. It is composed from over 2,000 individual reefs and 500 islands covering an area of 318,600km2 in the Kidal Sea. The reef system stretches from the south-eastern tip of Énqusqó to the Muralilin estuary in Tar-dinuu and is divided by large channels into eastern, western and central portions. The Grand Kidal Reef can be seen from space and is the largest single structure constructed by living organisms. The reef sits between the Locufaric and Shazabi oceans and exists as its own marine biogeographic region. The reef is the largest of the !X major coral reef zones in the world and is globally recognised as the region with the highest levels of marine biodiversity. More than 69% of the worlds shallow-water reef-building coral species are found in the Grand Kidal Reef, along with 34% of global reef fish species.

The region is considered a top priority for nature conservation as the species here face threats from climate change, overfishing, offshore oil rigs, tourism and the impact of heavy maritime traffic. Conservation of the reef was a driving factor in the creation of the Kidal Environmental Agreements which were signed between the Republic of Énqusqó and Higher Tar-dinuu in 1987. Large portions of the reef are protected as marine conservation parks which has helped to limit the impacts of human use, although environmental pressures continue to exert an increasing influence on the health of the reef.

The reef has been an important cultural feature in the many cultures that surround the Kidal Sea, most prominently the Kidal cultures that inhabit the islands which are surrounded by the coral reefs.