Saving Coral Reefs to Save the Oceans
I felt sick to my stomach. As I floated above the coral reef off the coast of Phuket, Thailand, the vibrant riot of color that I should have seen in the reef was gone, replaced by bleach white. The corals were starving. I got my diving license for my 16th birthday, and in 26 years of diving, I had never seen anything like this.
Coral reefs are often called the “rainforests of the sea” for the exceptional biodiversity they support. However, these centers of marine biodiversity are highly threatened by a climate change-driven event called mass coral bleaching.
In healthy corals, algae live inside each tiny animal, giving corals not only their beautiful colors, but also up to 90 percent of the energy corals need. When sea temperatures are too high for too long, the algae produce toxic compounds, and the corals essentially spit them out. Without the algae, the starving and stressed corals look ghostly white.
Changes in global climate exacerbated by El Niño have led to unusually hot sea temperatures around the world, putting corals under extreme stress. We are in the middle of a global coral bleaching event predicted to affect about 40 percent of the world’s coral reefs by the end of this year.
Coral reefs support about one fourth of all marine species. They are estimated to support the livelihoods of more than 500 million people dependent on fishing and provide fishing and tourist income worth over $30 billion.
Ultimately, the future of reefs depends on reducing greenhouse gas emissions before sea temperature anomalies reduce reefs to rubble.
USAID works to protect reefs through our climate change work, improved fishing practices, and support for marine protected areas.
In the Philippines, USAID’s ECOFISH project is catalyzing a transformation in marine management that will help corals survive bleaching events and recover afterward. When stressed corals are protected from additional pressures, in time, they can recover. Working with local communities and governments to enhance management effectiveness of marine protected areas is a critical step in building reef resilience to climate change and bleaching.
Another example of our response to coral bleaching is an experimental restoration project in the Seychelles, which is showing signs of success. Many coral reefs around the Seychelles were destroyed by the first global coral bleaching event in 1997 and 1998.
With USAID funding, Nature Seychelles is transplanting small corals that are thought to be more resistant to bleaching. These small coral “nubbins” are grown in nurseries for a year until they are large enough to be transplanted to a recovering coral reef.
Our work to promote coral resilience and recovery can “buy time” for corals in a changing climate. But this work to facilitate coral reef adaptation can only go so far. Ultimately, the future for the world’s coral reefs relies on global actions to reduce greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide emissions that are changing ocean chemistry.
About the Author
Heidi Schuttenberg is a coastal resources and biodiversity advisor in USAID’s Forestry and Biodiversity Office and she literally wrote the book on coral bleaching.
Check out more on our work to conserve biodiversity.
Read about how USAID has supported coral nurseries in the Seychelles.
Learn more about how ECOFISH supports coral reefs and improved fisheries.
Learn more about the National Ocean Council. Global Coral Bleaching is a great resource as well
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