Joshua Cinner is one ambitious social scientists and reef researcher. His work proves there is hope, and Earth might still get that second chance after all. Cinner is part of the ARC Center of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies from the James Cook University Townsville.
He recently did quite the research, and the results were intriguing. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is currently having a hard time surviving. It already experienced third significant summer bleaching events in only five years.
The aerial surveys indicate that more than half of the reef system is gone forever. Such a phenomenon of bleaching is caused by climate change and warming oceans. Only this year, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology reported one of the highest ocean surface temperatures encompassing the reefs.
What the Future Holds for the World’s Coral Reefs?
Climate change is to blame. It always was, and now, it seems that such a thing is out of control. Even if we try to change something tomorrow, issues will persist. Many of the world’s coral reefs would still be suffering from pollution. Cinner discussed recently in an interview about what the future holds for the world’s coral reefs. He explained how significant it is to build resilience in coral reefs themselves, and the coastal communities, as well.
Cinner led a few years ago a study. He and his team realized over 6,000 reef surveys on 46 countries and searched for areas that weren’t affected. He dubbed those areas “bright spots.” The bright spots aren’t certainly pristine reefs, but they’re doing better than they should be. Cinner described them as reefs that are pushing above their weight somehow.
Moreover, the bright spots on coral reefs appeared to have high levels of dependence on fishing. Decades of examinations on general property institutions discovered that where people’s livelihoods rely on resources, they felt more responsible for improving and investing in creative solutions to environmental issues. Cinner and his team also discovered strong local traditions with the sea and permanent participation in management by the local villages.
