{"id":14075,"date":"2025-04-16T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=14075"},"modified":"2025-04-12T14:40:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-12T14:40:17","slug":"coral-restoration-climate-change-reef-decline-marine-conservation-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/coral-restoration-climate-change-reef-decline-marine-conservation-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Reality check: coral restoration won\u2019t save the world\u2019s reefs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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\n A coral \u2018rope\u2019 nursery in the Maldives.\n Luca Saponari\/University of Milan<\/span>, CC BY-ND<\/a><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n Corey J. A. Bradshaw<\/a>, Flinders University<\/a><\/em>; Clelia Mul\u00e0<\/a>, The University of Western Australia<\/a><\/em>, and Giovanni Strona<\/a>, University of Helsinki<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

Coral reefs are much more than just a pretty place to visit. They are among the world\u2019s richest ecosystems, hosting about a third of all marine species<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n

These reefs also directly benefit more than a billion people<\/a>, providing livelihoods and food security, as well as protection from storms and coastal erosion. <\/p>\n\n

Without coral reefs, the world would be a much poorer place. So when corals die or become damaged, many people try to restore them. But the enormity of the task is growing as the climate keeps warming.<\/p>\n\n

In our new research<\/a>, we examined the full extent of existing coral restoration projects worldwide. We looked at what drives their success or failure, and how much it would actually cost to restore what\u2019s already been lost. Restoring the reefs we\u2019ve already lost around the world could cost up to A$26 trillion.<\/p>\n\n

\n \"Closeup<\/a>\n
\n Bleached Acropora<\/em> corals in the Maldives.<\/span>\n Davide Seveso\/University of Milan<\/span><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n

Global losses<\/h2>\n\n

Sadly, coral reefs are suffering all over the world. Global warming and marine heatwaves<\/a> are the main culprits. But overfishing<\/a> and pollution<\/a> make matters worse. <\/p>\n\n

When sea temperatures climb above the seasonal average for sustained periods, corals can become bleached<\/a>. They lose colour as they expel their symbiotic algae<\/a> when stressed, revealing the white skeleton underneath. Severe bleaching can kill coral.<\/p>\n\n

Coral bleaching and mass coral deaths are now commonplace. Last month, a massive warm-water plume bleached large areas of Ningaloo Reef<\/a> on Australia\u2019s northwest coast just as large sections of the northern Great Barrier Reef<\/a> were bleaching on the northeast coast. <\/p>\n\n

Since early 2023, mass coral bleaching has occurred in throughout the tropics and parts of the Indian Ocean<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Over the past 40 years, the extent of coral reefs has halved<\/a>. As climate change continues, bleaching events and coral deaths will become more common<\/a>. More than 90%<\/a> of coral reefs are at risk of long-term degradation by the end of the century.<\/p>\n\n

\n \"Underwater<\/a>\n
\n Dead corals in the Maldives following a bleaching event.<\/span>\n Simone Montano\/University of Milan<\/span><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n

Direct intervention<\/h2>\n\n

Coral reef restoration can take many forms<\/a>, including removing coral-eating species such as parrot fish<\/a>, transferring coral spawn<\/a>, or even manipulating the local community of microbes<\/a> to improve coral survival.<\/p>\n\n

But by far the most common type of restoration is \u201ccoral gardening<\/a>\u201d, where coral fragments grown in nurseries are transplanted back to the reef.<\/p>\n\n

The problem is scale. Coral restoration can only be done successfully at a small scale. Most projects only operate over several hundred or a few thousand square metres. Compare that with nearly 12,000 square km of loss and degradation<\/a> between 2009 and 2018. Restoration projects come nowhere near the scale needed to offset losses from climate change and other threats. <\/p>\n\n

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