Many people think there are no corals in Cyprus, but if climate change and coastal development continues unabated, they could soon be right, says a marine ecologist.
Son of a fisherman, he likes to put on his wetsuit and dive from the superb rocks of his island into the azure waters of the eastern Mediterranean, to discover their fragile aquatic ecosystems.
Not only, Cypriot waters are strewn with corals but we "still discover new species", assures the 38-year-old scientist.
"Emblematic", corals "support biodiversity but they are very sensitive to changes in the environment", he explains.
One of the richest ecosystems on the planet
Sometimes nicknamed "the tropical forest of the oceans", coral reefs are among the richest ecosystems on the planet, home to countless aquatic species.
Still under study, Cypriot marine ecosystems are extremely threatened by climate change as well as mass tourism, coastal development and agricultural pollution, according to the ecologist who has studied the effects of sea temperature change. on corals over the past ten years.
In 2015, a rise of one degree Celsius killed 20 to 30% of corals and only "some returned", regrets the scientist.
“The slightest increase in temperature (…) can seriously harm them, and forecasts show that it will get worse in the next 30, 40 years,” he warned.
It advocates in particular a sustainable development of the coastline and the creation of more marine protected areas, prohibiting harmful practices (anchoring boats, walks by swimmers on the corals).
For him, another priority is the education of children.
"They are the future […] They are the ones who will become the conservatives, the government, the users of tomorrow," he added.
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