In a position paper published on Tuesday, an international team of researchers called on politicians to take concrete measures against the death of coral reefs around the world.
"The current research results show that very few coral reefs will remain intact if we don't act now," emphasized Christian Wild, Professor of Marine Ecology at the University of Bremen and organizer of the 14th International Coral Reef Symposium, which will take place until Friday 1200 Exchange experts digitally.
The strategy paper should be understood as a wake-up call, said Wild. The reefs are at a turning point, 30 percent have already been lost, 40 percent are seriously threatened. The main reasons for the destruction of these important ecosystems are overfishing and pollution of the oceans, as well as climate change.
The experts are calling for three measures: limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, improving local conditions for the reefs, for example through sewage treatment plants and the reforestation of mangroves, and the active restoration of coral reefs. When restoring reefs, new approaches are to be pursued: "The goal is to raise“ super corals ”that are particularly heat-resistant," said Wild. They could withstand water temperatures of up to 34 degrees Celsius. "Usually they start to bleach at 29 degrees Celsius," said the scientist. Corresponding field tests are promising.