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Travelers can help restore coral reefs - from the couch and in future trips - Yahoo
Healthy marine ecosystems are essential for human well-being, and millions of people around the world rely on coral reefs for food, protection, recreation, medicine, cultural connection and economic opportunities. So, the decline of coral reefs is not just an ocean-lover's issue; it's also a global problem that requires collaborative action.
"The situation with coral reefs is quite alarming," said Titouan Bernicot, founder of Coral Gardeners, a coral restoration collective in Moorea, French Polynesia. Studies have found that live global coral coverage has declined by 50 percent since the 1950s and is expected to decline by about 70 to 90 percent in the next 20 years.
Danny DeMartini, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Kuleana Coral Restoration, a nonprofit organization in Hawaii, said multiple stressors are overburdening corals. "There's an ecological equilibrium where coral growth rates can withstand some amount of natural pressure from waves, storms, some runoff," he said. But, he added, the accumulation of human-generated environmental stressors - including pollution, changes in sedimentation from development, increasing ocean temperatures due to global warming, and destruction caused by trampling and anchoring on the reef - has disrupted the balance. "It's becoming harder for coral growth to keep up."
Healthy marine ecosystems are essential for human well-being, and millions of people around the world rely on coral reefs for food, protection, recreation, medicine, cultural connection and economic opportunities. So, the decline of coral reefs is not just an ocean-lover's issue; it's also a global problem that requires collaborative action.
"The situation with coral reefs is quite alarming," said Titouan Bernicot, founder of Coral Gardeners, a coral restoration collective in Moorea, French Polynesia. Studies have found that live global coral coverage has declined by 50 percent since the 1950s and is expected to decline by about 70 to 90 percent in the next 20 years.
Danny DeMartini, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Kuleana Coral Restoration, a nonprofit organization in Hawaii, said multiple stressors are overburdening corals. "There's an ecological equilibrium where coral growth rates can withstand some amount of natural pressure from waves, storms, some runoff," he said. But, he added, the accumulation of human-generated environmental stressors - including pollution, changes in sedimentation from development, increasing ocean temperatures due to global warming, and destruction caused by trampling and anchoring on the reef - has disrupted the balance. "It's becoming harder for coral growth to keep up."