Breakthrough as New Caledonia votes to protect coral reef

The Pacific Island is home to one of the world's most pristine coral reefs, boasting more than 9,300 marine species

New Caledonia has agreed to tougher protections around a huge swathe of some of the world's last near-pristine coral reefs, in a move conservationists hailed as a major breakthrough.

The Pacific nation, a French overseas territory, is home to a rich array of wildlife including 2.5 million seabirds and more than 9,300 marine species such as dugongs and nesting green sea turtles, many of which thrive in and around remote zones off the island nation's coast.