Life is better in colour - November is coral bleaching awareness month

Organisations and individuals are raising awareness for the fading beauty beneath the waves by bleaching their logos and sharing bleached coral images.

Life s better in colour 

In solidarity with the inaugural bleaching awareness month campaign, organised by ICRI and the Coral Reef Allaiance, Nature Seychelles symbolically swapped its colour logo for a bleached one.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of coral bleaching, a global environmental crisis. It urges people around the world to appreciate, acknowledge, and preserve these underwater wonders that are vanishing before our eyes.

Coral reefs are important

Coral reefs have thrived in our oceans for centuries. They provide ecosystem services that will be lost if they disappear. They support a quarter of all marine life despite covering only one percent of the ocean floor. They protect coastlines from erosion and storm surges. Their economic value is immense, as they support fisheries and tourism. Many climate-vulnerable nations, including ours, depend on them for security, resilience, and adaptation.

However, coral bleaching poses unprecedented threats to coral reefs, and many are at a tipping point.

What exactly is coral bleaching?

Most corals live symbiotically with algae which provide food and colour

Most corals live symbiotically with single-cell algae called zooxanthellae in their polyps. The algae provide food and energy and give corals their colour.

Coral bleaching occurs when coral polyps expel these symbiotic algae, causing the coral to turn white. Increasing sea temperatures caused by climate change, pollution, and other environmental stressors trigger this phenomenon.

Corals can only survive for a limited time without the algae. Unless temperatures decrease and polyps re-acquire the zooxanthellae, the colony could die. Dead reefs can't provide ecosystem services.

Why the coral awareness month?

This campaign serves as an education platform. The more people know about coral reefs and the threats they face, the better chance they have of protecting them.

Additionally, it provides an opportunity for individuals, organizations, and governments to collaborate on conservation and climate change mitigation.

It highlights the need for research, innovation, and investment to better develop effective solutions to climate change and coral bleaching.

A regional project for coral reef restoration

We are assisting reef recovery by growing corals and planting them in degraded areas

Several organisations and scientists are assisting reefs by growing corals and planting them in damaged reefs, because reefs are taking a long time to recover from bleaching events. Through its Reef Rescuers program, Nature Seychelles has been doing this for over a decade in the Cousin Island Special Reserve MPA.

In 2020, the organisation started a new phase of the project supported by a grant from the Adaptation Fund through UNDP and the Government of Seychelles. The project, “Restoring Marine Ecosystem Services by Restoring Coral Reefs to Meet a Changing Climate Future,” is a regional collaboration between Seychelles and Mauritius to restore reefs using ocean and land-based nurseries, as well as to bolster regional scientific advances and exchanges.

What can you do?

There are several ways to contribute to the coral bleaching awareness month. To find information and resources for learning, visit www.coralbelaching.com, a web resource that has been put together for the campaign. Spread the word by sharing your knowledge. You can also support coral conservation efforts locally. You can reduce your carbon footprint and lobby for a reduction in emissions to slow down the rate at which climate change is affecting corals. See this article for more ideas