Global Coralition: Unprecedented Collaboration to Restore Coral Reefs
The health of the planet depends on the health of our oceans. That’s why any local effort to protect and restore coral reefs will ripple out globally. The Global Coralition is a Project that creates large scale art sculptures that are deployed into the ocean. These sculptures become coral restoration sites thus providing a vehicle for education, raising tourism dollars to finance research, and cultural healing. It is this type of creative collaboration between science, art, and community involvement that gives great inspiration for what is possible as we contribute to a growing regenerative ecology movement.
We have lost 50% of our coral reefs in the last 30 years. At the current rate, it is estimated 90% of our coral reefs will be gone by 2050. Coral reefs support at least 25% of all marine life. They protect our coastlines, and provide food, medicine and livelihood to over a billion people. Without them we will have a rippling economic and ecosystem collapse. -Global Coralition
Regenerative Culture: Out of necessity we have moved beyond simply thinking in terms of sustainability but taking it a step further with regenerative solutions because so many of our ecological systems are in danger of complete collapse. Sustainability only works if we are working with a healthy, intact system. Restoration only works when the circumstances that caused the need for an ecosystem to be restored are changed, otherwise the damage will just keep happening. This is why we need to shift economic and industry practices away from destroying the environment and into regenerative practices. This is a cultural shift that requires collaborations between science, artists, policy-makers, communities and nature.
“In collaboration with Mai Tai Global, Future Horizons, the Mariposa Center for Girls, INSPIRE School for Boys, and Taino artists and elders, we are creating the Dominican Republic’s first sculptural reef garden in early 2020. Through art and performance we hope to reconnect community with cultural history while igniting support for ecological progress. We will be laying groundwork to build the region’s first land-based coral farm. Coral grown in these farms can grow up to 50 times faster than in nature and grow more resilient to the changing ocean conditions. The farm can also serve as a living coral library, which is a safekeeping of coral species for the future.” -Global Coralition Website
Collaborating with Nature: Long before human populations and our technology grew to a scale that we could begin to threaten entire ecosystems, collaboration was a way of life. For example, humans learned how to pollinate and graft different varieties of plants to make all kinds of yummy fruits and vegetables. The ancient inhabitants of the Amazon developed terra preta, a dark soil full of micro organisms that allowed them to grow massive amounts of food without needing to deforest their environment. We can bring back this sense of interconnectivity between the land and humans by working in ways that are mutually beneficial. This is called symbiosis.
Symbiosis is the interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both. It is a mutually beneficial relationship between different people or groups.
Coral and Human Cooperation: Coral is not only a beautiful place for humans to explore while diving. It is home to many fish that provide food and jobs for humans while protecting our coastlines from storm damage and erosion. Amazingly, coral reef plants and animals are also important sources of new medicines that are being developed to treat cancer, bacterial infections, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, viruses, and other diseases. It is important to note that it is possible to replicate discovered compounds in the lab, and reefs in the wild should not be harvested for medicine.
Some call coral reefs “the rainforests of the sea” because they are so rich in biodiversity. Though they are only 1% of the sea floor they host at least 25% of marine life in the oceans according to Coral Reef Alliance. Phytoplankton represents a fundamental food source in coral reef ecosystems and Scientists have observed that phytoplankton contributes between 50 to 85 percent of the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere!
A Scientific Breakthrough: Dr. David Vaughan, at the Mote Marine Laboratory made an amazing discovery when he accidentally broke some coral. His discovery is now helping coral to grow up to 40 times faster than previously before in the wild. The process is called microfragmentation. When a human cuts coral into small pieces and plants them in close proximity, they touch the other pieces as they grow and begin to fuse together. This collaboration between humans and coral allows coral to mature in 3–5 years instead of 50–75 years. (see video below)
Global Coralition Launches a Global Movement: By incorporating microfragmentation, larval propagation, and other techniques with giant underwater art sculptures we begin to see how beautiful these types of regenerative projects can be. The Global Coralition is dedicated to educating people everywhere about how the oceans connect us. Through collaborating with indigenous communities we are able to bring healing and reverence to ancient stories. By engaging youth we insure that this regenerative culture and a collaborative spirit can be brought to future generations. This mutual respect between science, artists, communities, local businesses, and indigenous cultures provides a template for addressing our many global challenges.
“The term ‘assisted evolution’ (AE) refers to a range of approaches that involve active intervention to accelerate the rate of naturally occurring evolutionary processes. These approaches aim to enhance certain attributes such as temperature tolerance, growth or reproduction.” -Australian Institute of Marine Science
Cultural Healing is Part of Environmental Healing: Global Coralition is launching their next sculptural reef project in Dominican Republic in 2020. The Taíno People were the indigenous inhabitants of the region for more than a thousand years before Christopher Columbus created the first seat of Spanish colonial rule in the New World. With colonialism came the ideology of conquering rather than cooperating with the people and the land. This destruction of indigenous ways also brought the destruction of ecosystems.
By recognizing that cultural healing is essential for environmental healing the Global Coralition has suggested the creation of a sculpture to honor Atabey, the Taíno Goddess of fertility and the waters. There has been discussion of replicating this practice of honoring indigenous heritage at future coral projects as well. Integrated throughout Global Coralition is the importance of community engagement that is rich with educational opportunities. This has the potential to be healing for our oceans, marine life, and the people while weaving a global narrative about reconciliation, regeneration, and the ways that we are connected globally.
The Global Coralition seeks to unite communities around climate solutions, increasing educational opportunities through art while strengthening restoration through science. This type of venture doesn’t magically happen without people stepping up in a big way. That means sharing this article with friends, visiting the Global Coralition website, and donating to support the team that is working tirelessly to make it all happen. Artist/Photographer, Layla Love has already agreed to donate proceeds from the sale of her prints online while giving a 10% discount to anyone who uses the code “coral10”. This is what collaboration looks like, and this is the kind of magic that can emerge when people come together to create something beautiful!