8 reasons why we need to save coral reefs right now
And why our team is passionate about them
In our previous publication we introduced CryptoCorals — the first crypto-collectible with a positive impact. At CryptoCorals we support coral reefs restoration by leveraging blockchain technology. One question we get asked a lot is : “Why do we have to save corals?”
In this short “manifesto” we share with you our passion for this incredible yet endangered organism we want to fight for.
Here are 8 reasons why we need to save coral reefs right now:
1. Because corals are unique, incredibly complex and intelligent animals
Have you ever wondered whether a coral is a rock, a plant, or an animal? In a sense they are all three! Corals are actually little animals called polyps, living in colonies. Inside the tissue of each polyps live a kind of algae, called zooxanthellae. These algae use sunlight to photosynthesize and feed the polyps. At night polyps secret limestone which gives their rocky structure, called a reef…!
The algae have an other amazing function: they generate the corals’ brilliant colors.With their bright colors, their diverse shapes, their astonishing textures, corals make us think of a wonderful jewelry collection. They provide us with never-ending inspiration for the design of our CryptoCorals.
CryptoCorals are digital assets created on the blockchain. Each CryptoCoral finances the plantation of a coral in real life. Each one of them will have unique traits (color, shape,…) and will shine like a diamond in the reefs…
Corals have super powers: they form a fascinating and unique ecosystem, that cannot be imitated.
2. Because corals are “The Rainforests of the Oceans”
Corals are not only beautiful: as an ecosystem, they nurture more than 25% of the world’s marine species. Clown fishes, gobies, foureye butterflyfishes and thousands of other species depend on corals for nutrients, but also for shelter and habitat. Oceans produce half of the world’s oxygen and absorb about 40% of man-made carbon dioxyde and coral reefs indirectly produce a large amount of the oxygen we breathe: the Great Barrier Reef emits as much oxygen as the Amazon rainforest, and its wildlife is as diversified!
If corals disappear, a whole ecosystem would collapse with them: entire species (known and still unknown ones) would die. And of course it would impact us, humans.
3. Because 850 million humans depend on them
This is something we overlook: more than 850 million humans depend on coral reefs. Large communities rely on the fisheries for their livelihoods and to feed their families. Corals attract millions of tourists, divers and snorkelers. Corals even generate the beautiful white sand that is a must-have for many travelers. Because of their impact on tourism, corals support local populations. Coral Reefs even save humans lives, as they offer natural coastal protection against storms or hurricanes. They are also a source for new medicinal remedies to treat cancer, human bacterial infections, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, and viruses.
Studies estimate their economic value at US$100 000–600 000 per km² (UNEP report, 2006). Coral reefs comprise an area of almost 300 000 km² (Italy’s total area), thus providing one of the most high-value ecosystems. Coral reefs are valuable, and that’s exactly what we want to illustrate by creating blockchain based assets called CryptoCorals. Those assets assign an economic value to corals which until now, did not formally have one.
4. Because corals are out of sight…and out of minds
The ocean and especially corals are out of sight for most of us. Therefore, it is hard to imagine how useful, big and beautiful this underwater universe actually is. There is a completely crazy, wide, alien world living next to us. At CryptoCorals we are amazed by the work of scientists and divers shooting incredible images which help us to discover those species while staying dry. In this regard we highly recommend you to watch Chasing Corals, one of the best documentaries we’ve seen so far about corals (it won the Emmy award for Outstanding Nature Documentary!).
5. Because there is an urge to act right NOW
Act right now. This message has been spread by scientist, researchers, NGO’s, local communities for years and particularly during this year. 2018 is the International Year of the Reefs (#YIOR 2018). The Reefs at Risk study, led by the World Ressources Institutes, reveals that unless action is taken now, 90% of all reefs will be threatened by 2030, and all of Earth’s coral reefs could be completely gone by 2050. Ocean warming, acidification and destructive fishing have already destroyed half of the worldwide coral population over the last 30 years. Due to raising water temperature, there are more and more bleaching events: corals are under stress and expel their living algae, thereby losing their colors and food suppliers. They then turn to white skeletons and face death. The situation is alarming, and highlights the poor health of our oceans. If coral reefs disappear other marine realms will follow.
But our generation has the opportunity to save them. We have a shot to take and we really do not want to miss it, the stakes are too high.
6. Because we have great solutions in our hands to save them
To face this challenge we are lucky to have great minds, dedicated researchers, and inventors working on new ways to save coral reefs.Technology provides us with revolutionary techniques. For example: did you know that it is possible to outplant corals? Outplanting corals is a technique where fragmented corals are collected, grown and protected in nurseries and then outplanted on site. You can have variations regarding the nurseries (on site under sea or on earth), or regarding the supply of “baby corals”. Micro-fragmentation for example has proven to be very efficient to scale the number of outplants. Others use larvae on substrates which ensure sustainable supply. November 2018, a robot called LarvalBot, spread baby coral larvae in the Great Barrier Reef. Those techniques have proven to work, but we still need some research work to scale the number of outplanting corals and reduce the costs of these restoration projects. We believe in these new technologies and our ambition is to plant 1 million corals by 2021 with our partners NGOs. We’ll also dedicate some of our revenues to fund research projects in this field.
However, these are short term solutions to face the emergency of the situation. First because not all reefs can be restored. Before starting outplanting corals, there is still a lot of work to do to determine which kinds of spots will give the highest survival rate. Water conditions, local communities’ commitment and government actions are taken into account. Dr. Sylvia Earle, the legendary oceanographer, also identified “hope spots”, places that are critical to the health of the ocean. There are sustainable actions to take to protect corals on the long term: education, conservation programs and hard work to reduce our carbon emissions to fight global warming.
7. Because it is not too late to save coral reefs
Hope also comes from reef resilience. Corals are by nature resilient species, meaning they can recover from a major disturbance. But today, changes happen so fast that most of them cannot adapt. However, scientists are exploring some “coral defense” mechanisms and surprising resilient species, to understand how they adapt themselves to warming and ocean acidification. These species or the characteristics of their environnement are then used for outplanting projects and yield higher survival rates. This pioneering research on cross-species coral hybrids, inoculations with protective bacteria and even genetic engineering could give birth to new “super corals” able to resist global warming.
8. Because corals are still unknown individuals
The little we know about them has already proven how vital they are for biodiversity and economies…but there is so much left we don’t know about them! Every day new discoveries about corals amaze us by their creativity and intelligence. Take corals reproduction: corals can reproduce both sexually..and asexually! In some areas, mass synchronized coral spawning events occur one specific night per year.
Corals spawn their gametes in the sea, because colonies may be separated by wide distances, this release must be both precisely and broadly timed, and usually occurs in response to multiple environmental cues. Spawning events are incredible shows to watch…
Those reproductive moments are still not fully understood just as many other aspects about corals. It would be a shame to watch the extinction of a species we still do not clearly know.
Your CryptoCorals will evolve and reproduce just like real ones, and you will discover their other super powers!
Saving coral reefs has so much impact on our planet: entire economies, many communities, and most of the marine biodiversity rely on coral reefs. If nothing is done, a massive die-off could happen without most of us even noticing it.
At CryptoCorals we want to leverage blockchain to scale up the funding for coral reefs restoration and save one of the most mysterious species of our world.
We are very excited about CryptoCorals, and we love to get feedbacks!
Join our Facebook community to get news from our platform!
Follow us on Twitter for updates :)
CryptoCorals is being developed by the startup studio French Bureau, a team composed of designers, engineers, entrepreneurs and marketing experts united by our audacity and desire to create a positive impact in the world.
